Margaret's Lasagna

Margaret’s lasagna takes a no-fuss approach that still delivers layers of gooey cheese and beefy tomato sauce. The clever trick here: after browning the ground beef, you drain the fat AND rinse the meat with warm water to strip out even more grease. What’s left is clean, lean beef flavor that won’t leave an oily slick on top of the finished dish.

The meat sauce is deliberately simple. Browned beef, diced tomatoes, three cans of tomato paste, parsley, and salt simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Cottage cheese stands in for ricotta, mixed with beaten eggs, parmesan, parsley, salt, and pepper for the creamy layer. Both the meat sauce and cheese mixture get combined before layering, so every bite has sauce and cheese running through it.

A pound and a half of mozzarella between two layers handles the cheese pull. Let it rest 10 minutes before cutting or the layers slide apart.

Pro Tips

• Rinsing the browned beef with warm water removes significantly more fat without washing away flavor. The tomato paste and seasonings add back all the richness you need.
• Simmer the meat sauce uncovered so it thickens into a concentrated, clingy sauce. Covered simmering leaves it too watery.
• Let the assembled lasagna rest a full 10 minutes after baking. This firms the layers and makes clean slices possible.
• Three cans of tomato paste is concentrated. If the sauce tastes too intense, add ½ cup water during the simmer.

Variations

• Ricotta upgrade: Replace the cottage cheese with whole-milk ricotta for a smoother, more traditional Italian filling.
• Vegetarian version: Swap the ground beef for a pound of sauteed mushrooms and crumbled Italian sausage-style plant protein.
• Spinach layer: Add a layer of thawed, squeezed dry spinach between the noodle layers for extra color and nutrition.