Ina Garten is a well-known chef, cookbook author, and television personality from the United States. It’s interesting to note that despite not cooking much while growing up due to her family’s emphasis on academics, she has become a celebrated chef.
Currently, Ina is the host of the cooking show “Barefoot Contessa” on the Food Network, which has been on the air since 2002 and is currently in its 28th season. While there are many articles about her life, this article provides unique content by sharing Ina Garten’s recipe for her famous lasagna.
By following the recipe, readers can experience the taste of lasagna in the style of a famous chef. So, make sure to read until the end for all the details!
Hence read until the end.
Table of Contents
Ina Garten Age and Parents
Garten’s age is 75 years at present. She was born on 2nd February 1948. Her parents, Charles H. Rosenberg and Florence Rosenberg, raised her in New York City along with two siblings.
As both her parents were intellectuals, her family encouraged her more on studies rather than other activities. Ina says her mother even didn’t allow her to work in the kitchen so that she could focus on her education. Hence, she completed her education in business.
However, her cooking skills advanced after she married. She initially served in the White House as a nuclear policy analyst until she purchased a food store, “Barefoot Contessa.”
With multiple experiments and learning about cooking, Garten is now one of the best cooks in her town. She has also published multiple cookbooks under her name, with the latest one being “Go-To Dinners: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.”
Is Lasagna Best as Dinner/Lunch/ or Breakfast?
Lasagna is a popular Italian dish where pasta is layered with loads of cheese, meat, or veggies. While there is no specific time to have Lasanag, different health sites claim that one may have lasagna for breakfast or lunch.
However, it is best to avoid it for dinners as it consists of high levels of carbohydrates and starch, which might disrupt your sleep. Likewise, if you eat them before bedtime, the high level of cheese and other heavy ingredients will make you gain unhealthy weight.
Similarly, if you are eating lasagna during breakfast, make sure the pasta is made from whole grains. Likewise, you may also bake it with breakfast foods, like vegetables, nuts, cheese, eggs, etc.
So, considering facts, lasagna is best eaten during lunch because you will work all day after that, and the heavy food will digest quickly.
Health Benefits of Lasagna
As per the source, lasagne has the ability to provide specific health benefits depending on the items used. For example, lasagna may be a great source of protein if it contains meat or cheese, which is an alternative that supplies calcium to support strong teeth and bones.
However, traditional lasagna recipes frequently include significant levels of calories, fat, salt, and carbs. Similarly, one may even experiment with using whole-wheat noodles, adding fewer protein sources like chicken or turkey, and increasing the number of veggies in the dish to make lasagna healthier.
Nonetheless, low-fat cheese can also be used, and its quantity can also be limited.
Who Should Avoid Lasagna?
As per the research on Quora, Lasnaga should simply be avoided by people who are trying to lose weight. Likewise, as the food consists of lots of cheese and fat, people who are lactose and gluten intolerant should stay away from it as well.
Also, lasagna is heavy in carbs; therefore, those who suffer from medical disorders like heart disease should avoid eating it.
Total Time Required to Cook Lasagna
Ina Garten’s Lasanga gets ready in no time. As per the chef’s website, her delicious Lasanga gets ready within 1 hour and 35 minutes.
Including 20 minutes of preparation time.
What are the Ingredients Required?
- The ingredients that Chef Garten uses for her lasagna are;
- Olive oil, 2 tablespoons
- 1 cup of yellow onion sliced (equivalent to 1 onion)
- 2 graded cloves of garlic
- Sweet Italian turkey sausage in half-pound portions without casings
- 1 can or 28-ounce of tomato puree with crushed tomatoes
- 6 ounces or a can of tomato paste
- Fresh flat-leaf parsley, diced to a quarter cup, divided
- viii. half a cup of freshly chopped basil leaves
- Freshly powdered black pepper
- Kosher salt
- Noodles for lasagna, half a pound
- A quarter-pound of ricotta cheese
- Crumbled 3 to 4 ounces of creamy goat cheese.
- 1 cup of properly choppParmesan cheese and one-fourth cup for garnish 1 big egg, lightly beaten.
- 1 pound of finely sliced fresh mozzarella cheese
Step-by-Step Procedure for Ina Garten’s Lasagna Recipe.
There are many misconceptions that culinary experts use demanding recipes to cook, but following Ina’s Lasagna recipe is easy peasy and does not require brain surgery.
The chef uses simple cooking techniques. Now, let’s learn how to prepare lasagna; according to Ina Garten,
- First, the oven must be preheated to 400 degrees F.
- Then, warm some of the olive oil in a large (10 to 12-inch) pan over medium-low heat.
- Add the diced onion and cook for 5 minutes until translucent, and then put the minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
- Following that, the sausage should then be added to the pan and cooked for a further 8 to 10 minutes over medium-low heat, breaking it up with a fork until it is no longer pink.
- Put on the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley, chopped basil, and 1 and a half tablespoons each of salt and black pepper. For 15 to 20 minutes, steam uncovered over medium heat until it thickens.
- At the same time, pour the warm tap water into a large dish. The lasagna noodles should then be added and given 20 minutes to soak in the water.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the goat cheese, 1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese, lightly beaten egg, and the remaining 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
- Now on a rectangular baking dish, scoop 1/3 of the sauce into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch and spread the sauce all over the bottom of the dish.
- Layer the lasagna noodles, half the mozzarella cheese, half the ricotta mix, and one-third of the sauce. Repeat the layering, but make sure to end the step with a final layer of sauce.
- Then randomley spread 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese.
- Bake the lasagna now for 30 minutes, or until the cheese gets melted and the sauce is boiling.
- Finally, let the lasagna rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Now, Ina Garten’s delicious lasagna recipe is ready Enjoy!