Photo by Kevin Twomey
This lasagna recipe is one of my favorites. I enjoy taking my time with it, allowing the sauce to cook for several hours in my favorite Le Creuset in the oven so that each of its distinctive spices have time to blend with one another. This is the perfect dish to impress “the one” if its true what they say, “The way to his heart is through his stomach.”
Ingredients:
1 pound dried lasagna noodles (I prefer oven-ready)
3 tablespoons Extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound ground beef
3/4 pound ground Italian sweet sausage
1/4 pound ground Italian spicy sausage
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
1/2 teaspoon dried fennel
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 carrots, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
1/2 tablespoon chopped oregano leaves
1 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup red wine
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes or sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 quart ricotta cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 pound of fresh mozerella shredded or sliced
1/2 cup grated Grana Padana
Preheat oven on to 325°.
Coat a large skillet with olive oil, add beef and sausage and brown until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add anchovy paste, fennel seeds and season with salt and pepper. In a food processor, combine the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, basil, parsley, and oregano. Process until pureed, add to the pan with the ground meat and stir to combine. Stir in the flour. Add the wine and cook until it has reduced by half. Stir in the crushed tomatoes and add the heavy cream and the cinnamon.
At this point I like to slow things down. The entire apartment smells of fresh herbs, garlic and savory sausage. Boyfriend and friends are growing hungry, but hold on. Anything really good is worth waiting for.
Remove your Le Creuset (or other cast iron oven) from stovetop and place into heated oven covered and cook for 4 – 6 hours on 325°. If you don’t have time for this step, simply cook on medium temperature on stovetop for 1-2 hours.
Preheat Oven to 350°
In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta and the parmesan. Stir in the egg and season with salt and pepper.
To assemble the lasagna: Coat the bottom of a deep 13 by 9-inch pan with olive oil. Top with a spoonfull of sauce. Arrange 4 noodles lengthwise in a slightly overlapping layer on the sauce. Dollop 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the pasta, spread to the edges with a spatula. Spread 1/3 of the sauce/meat mixture over the ricotta. Sprinkle 1/3 of the mozzarella on top of the ricotta. Top with a ladle full of sauce, spread evenly. Repeat with the next 2 layers of noodles, ricotta, sauce, and cheeses. Top last layer with noodles, sauce, shredded mozzarella and Parmesan. Tap the pan to force out air bubbles. Cover top with alluminum foil, removing the last 15 minutes.
Bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven. Let lasagna rest for 30 minutes so the noodles will settle and cut easily. Cut into 2-inch squares and serve.
Food to Fiction 