Lasagna

From the book The Basic Gourmet by Diane Morgan, Dan Taggart, Kathleen Taggart, and Georgia Vareldzis

Serves

8

Introduction

An all-time favorite, lasagna is a perfect do-ahead entree. Families and friends enjoy the simplicity of pasta, a good salad, good bread, and a light dessert. Our poached pears, baked apples, or even a fruit cobbler would be a perfect finish to this meal. When made just for our families, we enjoy the leftovers another night.

Ingredients

	3	cups Cooked Tomato Sauce
	10	strips dried lasagna noodles (see Cook’s Notes)
	1	lb. bulk Italian sausage
	2	Tbsp. olive oil
	1	cup minced fresh parsley
	1	lb. part-skim ricotta cheese
	8	oz. whole-milk mozzarella cheese, shredded
	4	oz. Parmesan cheese, freshly grated (about 1 cup)

Steps

1. Prepare tomato sauce and keep warm. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water in an 8-quart stockpot as directed in Understanding and Cooking Fresh and Dried Pasta. Drain, rinse with cold water, and reserve.
2. Heat a 10-inch frying pan over medium-high heat. Add Italian sausage and sauté until meat is no longer pink. Drain excess fat and reserve sausage.
3. Brush the bottom and sides of a 9x13-inch baking dish with olive oil. Lay 3 strips of lasagna noodles lengthwise in the bottom of prepared dish. Add cups of the tomato sauce and spread evenly. Scatter the sausage evenly over the sauce. Now scatter ½ cup of the parsley on top. Start the second layer by placing 3 more sheets of lasagna in the pan. Use a rubber spatula to spread all the ricotta evenly over the pasta. Cover ricotta with remaining 1½ cups tomato sauce. Sprinkle remaining ½ cup parsley on top. Now scatter all the mozzarella evenly on top. Add 3 more sheets of lasagna for the final layer. Cover the pasta with all of the Parmesan. At this point, cover and refrigerate the lasagna to bake later or cover tightly with plastic wrap and freeze.
4. About an 1¼ hours before serving, preheat oven to 350°F. Bake lasagna until it is lightly browned at the edges and bubbly, 45 to 50 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before cutting into squares. If baking from a frozen state, start in a cold oven (especially if your pan is porcelain or glass) and allow about 20 to 30 extra minutes of baking time.

Notes

• If you are calorie conscious, substitute part-skim mozzarella and low-fat ricotta.
• You will probably need to buy a 1-pound box of lasagna; reserve extra noodles for another use. Although the recipe only requires 9 strips of noodles, we always cook an extra one in case of breakage.
• If a pasta store in your area carries sheets of fresh pasta, substitute 3 sheets (3/4 pound) for the dried called for in the recipe. With fresh pasta, just lightly rinse the sheets of any flour that keeps them from sticking together and use them without precooking. Fresh pasta is a wonderful time saver here.
• Use spinach pasta instead of egg pasta, if you prefer.
• If you prefer a meatless lasagna, skip the Italian sausage. You might substitute sliced artichoke hearts for the sausage; use an 8-ounce jar, drain, pat dry, and slice the artichokes.
• Another alternative for a meatless lasagna is to use thin slices of eggplant. Slice 1 small eggplant lengthwise, brush slices with olive oil, and sauté in a 12-inch frying pan until nicely browned on both sides. Place eggplant slices instead of sausage over sauce in the first layer.

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