Difficulty: Intermediate Preparation Time: 30min
Yields: 8 Servings Total Time: 3hr
Ingredients:
Sauce:
Olive Oil
8 oz Ground Beef, 85% lean
8 oz Hot Italian Sausage, casing removed
8 oz Sweet Italian Sausage, casing removed
1 cup Yellow Onion, 1/4 inch dice
1 cup Carrot, 1/4 inch dice
1 cup Celery, 1/4 inch dice
1 28 oz can Crushed Tomato
1/4 cup Tomato Paste
6 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
2 Bay Leaves
1 tbsp. Brown Sugar
1 tbsp. Dried Oregano
1/4 cup Heavy Cream
1 cup Dry Red Wine
1/4 tbsp. Nutmeg
1/2 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
Lasagne:
1 box No Boil Lasagna Sheets (Barilla)
30 oz Part-Skim Ricotta Cheese
8 oz Parmesan Cheese (Pecorino or Reggiano), grated
8 oz Mascarpone Cheese
24 oz Mozzarella Cheese, grated
2 Large Eggs
10 oz Frozen Spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
Procedure:
FOR THE SAUCE
Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic; add a couple pinches of salt to allow the moisture from the vegetables to release. Sauté until soft and slightly colored and cooked through. Remove from pan to a bowl.
Add 1 tbsp. olive to same pan. When the olive oil is up to temperature add the meat and brown while breaking up the meat, into very small pieces, with the back of your spoon. Add a couple of pinches of salt and a few twists of the pepper grinder at this point. When the meat mixture is cooked thru, drain the fat from the pan. Raise the heat to high and add the tomato paste and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the sautéed vegetables back to the pan. Add the red wine and cook until dry. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer, uncovered, until sauce is a fairly thick, stirring occasionally. This may take up to 2 hours. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
FOR THE LASAGNA
While the sauce is reducing assemble the cheese mixture. Combine the ricotta, spinach, mascarpone and the Parmesan cheese in a large bowl. Combine well, season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the eggs to the cheese mixture.
Preheat oven to 350F.
To assemble: Spread enough of the sauce to just cover the bottom of a 13×9” glass baking dish, place 3 of the noodles over the sauce. Spread enough of the ricotta mixture over the noodles to just cover them, sprinkle approximately 2 cups of the mozzarella over the ricotta. Cover the cheese with 3 sheets of pasta. Spread meat sauce over the noodles just to cover. Cover the meat sauce with 3 sheets of pasta. Cover the pasta with the ricotta mixture and the mozzarella. Cover the mozzarella with 3 sheets of pasta. Cover the pasta with meat sauce and mozzarella.
Bake lasagna, covered with foil, in the oven for 11/4 hour, uncover and finish baking until cheese is melted and lasagna is bubbling. Note: the lasagna should reach an internal temperature of 160F.
Cool ten minutes before serving.
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