Sunday, August 14, 2011

Three-Cheese Lasagna with Italian Sausage

I tried a new lasagna recipe recently, adapted from this recipe from Bon Appetit magazine. Raves all around! Everyone loved it.

SAUCE
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 cup chopped onion 
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 18 oz spicy Italian sausages, casings removed
  • 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes with added puree
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 2 tbsp dried basil
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
LASAGNA
9 lasagna noodles (about 12 ounces)
2 15-ounce containers part-skim ricotta cheese
2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, squeezed dry
2 large eggs
6 cups grated mozzarella cheese

FOR SAUCE:
Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté until softened, about 12 minutes. Add sausages to pan; sauté until cooked through, breaking up meat with back of spoon, about 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer until flavors blend and sauce measures about 5 cups, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Cool.

FOR LASAGNA:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until almost tender, about 7 minutes. Drain; cover with cold water.

Combine ricotta and 1 cup Parmesan cheese in medium bowl. Mix in spinach. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in eggs.

Drain pasta and pat dry. Spread 1/2 cup sauce over bottom of 13x9-inch glass baking dish. Place 3 noodles over sauce, overlapping to fit. Spread half of ricotta-spinach mixture evenly over noodles. Sprinkle 2 cups mozzarella cheese evenly over ricotta-spinach mixture. Spoon 1 1/2 cups sauce over cheese, spreading with spatula to cover (sauce will be thick). Repeat layering with 3 noodles, remaining ricotta-spinach mixture, 2 cups mozzarella and 1 1/2 cups sauce. Arrange remaining 3 noodles over sauce. Spread remaining sauce over noodles. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese evenly over lasagna. (Can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate.) Cover baking dish with aluminum foil. Bake lasagna 40 minutes; uncover and bake until hot and bubbly, about 40 minutes. Let lasagna stand 15 minutes before serving.

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