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Lasagna

Mog

All-American
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May 29, 2001
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Morgantown, WV
Been a while since I made one. The hard part was staring at the sauce on the stove for an hour and a half before actually assembling the thing.

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GRANDMA MADELINE'S SAUSAGE LASAGNA

Prep Time: About 2 hours (includes sauce time; sauce can be made in advance)

Cook Time: About 1 hour 20 minutes (includes 20 minutes resting time)

My Grandma Madeline's lasagna showed off her impeccable cooking instincts: First of all, there was the combination of meats: Beef, pork and veal are the same combination that makes meatballs and meatloaf work because the beef provides flavor, the veal texture, and pork the essential fat that binds it together. To that, she added spicy Italian sausage, which was a stroke of genius, because the sausage fat transmits its spices and flavors throughout the lasagna. And then to provide a wonderful texture, she used a combination of crushed and pureed tomatoes. This is one of the best lasagnas you will have, and the best part is that it doesn't take any more work than making a more traditional recipe.

This recipe uses spicy sausage, but if it's too hot for you, you can use sweet sausage or a combination of the two.

For the sauce:

1⁄4 cup olive oil
1⁄2 pound ground (80-20) beef
1⁄2 pound ground pork
1⁄2 pound ground veal
1 pound hot Italian sausage, casings removed
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1⁄2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 can (28 ounces) peeled whole tomatoes with their juices, crushed by hand
1 can (28 ounces) tomato puree
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the lasagna:
2 pounds fresh ricotta cheese
1⁄4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, including stems
2 tablespoons finely chopped basil leaves
1 1⁄2 cups (6 ounces) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, divided
1 1⁄2 pounds fresh whole mozzarella, grated on the large holes of a box grater (about 2 cups), divided
2 large eggs, beaten
1 pound fresh lasagna sheets, or dried lasagna noodles
Cold water, if necessary

To prepare the sauce: Heat a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat until it is shimmering, almost smoking. Add the beef, pork, veal and sausage, and cook until nicely browned, for 10 to 15 minutes, using a wooden spoon or fork to break up and blend the meats. Stir in the garlic and oregano, and cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until the meat is coated with the paste, for about 2 minutes. Pour in the tomatoes with their juices and the tomato puree, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened, for about 1 1⁄2 hours. Remove the sauce from the heat and let cool. The sauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container for as long as 2 days or frozen for as long as 1 month. Let the sauce come to room temperature before making the lasagna.

To prepare the lasagna: Put the ricotta, parsley, basil, 1 cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano, 1 pound of the shredded mozzarella, and the eggs in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper, and blend well.

Cook the lasagna noodles, if necessary. (Fresh pasta and no-cook lasagna do not require any precooking. Dry, curly-edged lasagna noodles need only be par-cooked for 3 minutes in boiling, salted water.) Drain the noodles, rinse in cold water, and pat dry with paper towels.

Position a rack in the center of the oven. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Spread 1 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a 9-by-13-by-2-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Line the bottom of the dish with overlapping noodles. Spread 1⁄3 of the cheese mixture over the noodles, sprinkle with a little Parmigiano-Reggiano and shredded mozzarella, then top with 1 1⁄2 cups of the sauce and another layer of noodles. Repeat this layering sequence twice, finishing with a layer of pasta and 1 1⁄2cups of sauce. (There may be some sauce left over; save it for another use.)

Put the remaining 1⁄2 cup of mozzarella and 1⁄2 cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano in a small bowl, stir together, and scatter evenly over the lasagna.

Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil, and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the top is golden and crisp around the edges and the filling is bubbling, for about another 20 minutes. Remove the lasagna from the oven and let rest for 20 minutes before slicing and serving.

Note: Put a rimmed cookie or baking sheet into the oven under the lasagna pan to catch any spills and boil over.

Makes 10-12 servings.
 
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Excellent. Lasagna is one of my best dishes. No recipe though.
 
If anyone is looking for a very good jar pasta sauce....I would highly recommend Victoria's White Linen Marinara Sauce sold at Costco.....I think you can also get it on-line. I would never have touched a jarred pasta sauce....now this is all we use because it is really good and a time saver. Since we like a meat sauce, we add 3/4th lb. of hot Italian sausage(removed from casings) and 3/4th lb. of 80% or 85% ground beef per jar.
 
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If anyone is looking for a very good jar pasta sauce....I would highly recommend Victoria's White Linen Marinara Sauce sold at Costco.....I think you can also get it on-line. I would never have touched a jarred pasta sauce....now this is all we use because it is really good and a time saver. Since we like a meat sauce, we add 3/4th lb. of hot Italian sausage(removed from casings) and 3/4th lb. of 80% or 85% ground beef per jar.

We use the Figaretti brand (from Wheeling) which we buy at a specialty grocer in Cincinnati; but since I spend half my life at Costco, I'll have to give this White Linen brand a try.

Tks.....
 
We use the Figaretti brand (from Wheeling) which we buy at a specialty grocer in Cincinnati; but since I spend half my life at Costco, I'll have to give this White Linen brand a try.

Tks.....
We do add the sausage and grd beef when using as pasta sauce. We have used it as is when making meatball subs. Sams Club sells Victoria Sauce but not the White Linen......we have tried it and saw very little difference. Costco discontinued the White Linen a few years ago and had to bring it back due to customer demand. I think the White Linen is only sold at Costco or on-line.
 
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