Beef and Sausage Lasagne
In contrast to my Vegetable Chili recipe posted last week, I offer Beef and Sausage Lasagne. Lasagne has always been a treat in my family. My mother, an Italian-American, would make it on special occasions: birthday, Christmas, a meatless version during Lent. My mother based her sauce on her mother's, which was made with fresh tomatoes. My mother adapted hers to canned whole tomatoes, since she was running around after five children (yes, I am the youngest of five children--I have four older brothers). I promise that one day I will post her tomato sauce and lasagne recipe, but right now I'd like to share this other great lasagne recipe. It's excellent, and perfect now that the weather is getting cooler. So far, I've made this about five times, and each time it's excellent. My mother's tomato sauce and lasagne takes pretty much all day, and this one takes about two hours start to finish, so it's perfect for Sunday dinner with leftovers for the week.
Several years ago, we had dinner at a friend's house and she made a lasagne with "no-bake lasagne noodles" and I crinkled my nose up at the thought of it (After all, Queen of All Things Made from Scratch is my mother. By the way, I think she always felt guilty about using canned tomatoes for her sauce vs. real, fresh tomatoes). I was, however, pleasantly surprised. It had a nice taste and texture. The pasta baked perfectly al dente. I, of course, considered it an anomaly. However, after making Ruth Reichl's lasagne recipe from The Gourmet Cookbook, I've been slowly changing my mind.
Does this mean that I've given up dreams of making my own pasta every week? Well, no. It just means that I can serve a delicious lasagne to friends and only invest about an hour of hands-on time. This is what I give to you, dear readers: a great lasagne recipe, guaranteed to be loved by all at your next dinner party.
Beef and Sausage Lasagne
Serves 10 as a main course
Active time: 45 minutes; Start to finish: 2 hours
The flavor of the beef, the binding qualities of veal, and the succulence of pork sausage, combine to make this meaty lasagne light and juicy. Don't be tempted to substitute the ground beef chuck with something lean. The amount of fat in the beef affects the moisture as well as the texture of the cooked dish.
For sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage, casing discarded
1/2 pound ground beef chuck
1/2 pound ground veal
2 (28-oz) cans whole tomatoes in juice, drained (juice reserved) and chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For filling:
1 pound fresh ricotta or supermarket-style ricotta
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
For assembling:
16 oven-ready (no boil) lasagne noodles (two 9-oz packages)
1/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, coarsely grates.
Make the sauce: Heat oil in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot buy not smoking. Add onion and cook, stirring, until golden, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in sausage, beef, and veal and cook, stirring and breaking up larger pieces, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, with their juice, salt, and pepper, bring to a simmer, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat.
Make the filling: Stir together ricotta, egg, Parmesan, parley, salt, pepper,and nutmeg in a bowl until combined. Put a rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Oil. a 13-by-9 inch baking dish.
Assemble the Lasagne: Spread 1 1/4 cups sauce in baking dish. Arrange 4 lasagne noodles, slightly overlapping, over sauce, then spread one third of ricotta mixture over noodles. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons Parmesan over ricotta, the spread 1 1/4 cup sauce over Parmesan. Top with 4 more noodles and spread with another one third of ricotta mixture and 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Top with 4 more noodles, remaining ricotta mixture, and 1 1/4 cups sauce. Top with remaining noodles, then spread with remaining sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella.
Cover lasagne with buttered foil an bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake until top is bubbling and lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes more. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.
posted by grannyanny @ 8:39 PM
5 Comments:
This sounds wonderful! I used to make lasagne a lot until I figured out it cost me about $25 a pan to make. And thats not including the big jug of Riunitti or Giacobazzi to go with it!
I now only make it once a year or so for a special occasion!
I grew up believing that lasagne was the most laborious, expensive, exotic thing you could make because my mother always made the hugest deal about it. I can count on one hand the times I had lasagne as a child (the last time was when I was 12 and I was denied a second piece because my mother had put me on a diet, something I've never quite forgiven her for). Thus, I have always been super impressed by lasagne and people who make it. As an adult, I learned LOTS of people make this and it isn't a huge deal after all. We make it at work on a regular basis and now I really know that it's not the labour-intensive endeavour my mom always groaned about.
I have made it once in my adult life, when I was in Italy with Aaron. That's when I learned all about REAL mozzarella cheese and what it does when you try to melt it.
wc: you and i have yet another thing in common: being put on a diet by our moms when young. i look back on pictures of me as a child and i was quite thin. my mother wanted someone to diet with her, so i was the unwilling participant.
anyway, despite the length of this reciped it's really rather easy.
Hm. I came across some pictures of myself when I was 11 the last time I visited my mom, four years ago. At that age, I was being bullied for being fat. I couldn't believe how thin I was in those pictures, and that I would be put on a diet a year later! I cried when I saw those photos, I was so upset. I now have one in a frame in my room - just to remind myself of the beautiful little girl I was, 'cause I certainly wasn't let to believe that from anyone back then.
egads! i've had a similar experience. now, as an adult woman i cringe when i see other women obsessed with their weight like my mother was (and still is).
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