(World’s Best Father photo by Dave Engledow)

The World’s Best.

Well, you know that is going to get my attention. Any time a recipe purports to be The Best! Fabulous! Favorite! Famous!, it is something I have to check out.

Which brings us to today’s Lasagna. Evidently, it is possibly the most viewed recipe among English Language sites according to AllRecipes.com

The verdict?

Excellent and certainly a contender for the world’s best.

The sauce is particularly good. Thick, richly spiced and chock full of ground beef and sausage. The balance between sauce, pasta and cheese is near perfect, too.

Mangia!

The World’s Best Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 pound sweet Italian sausage
3/4 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (12 ounce) can tomato paste
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
12 dried lasagna noodles
16 ounces part skim ricotta cheese
1 egg
12 ounces mozzarella cheese, sliced
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. In a large Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned.

2. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Add sugar, basil, fennel seed, Italian seasoning, pepper, and half of the parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt.

3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles for 10 minutes. Drain.

4. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg and remaining parsley.

5. Preheat oven to 375℉/190 degrees℃.

6. To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with half of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella and sprinkle with half of Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, using remaining lasagna noodles, the remaining ricotta mixture and remaining mozzarella. Top with 1 1/2 cups sauce and Parmesan cheese. Cover with non-stick foil.

7. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Serves 12

Recipe from AllRecipes.com

So an internet search for ‘The World’s Best Music’ brought me to The World’s Greatest Music website Just last week they posted a song from Portland, Oregon-based band Ages And Ages which is mighty good indeed, if not one of the best things I’ve heard recently.

Check out Ages And Ages on the band’s Website, where you can learn of upcoming world tour dates and how to pre-order their new album due out in March, as well as buy their first release.

Cheers!