Free Form Sausage And Three Cheese Lasagna Recipes

SWEET SAUSAGE AND THREE CHEESE LASAGNA

Steps:

• For the meat sauce: Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add the garlic and onions, season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook until just softened. Add the sausage and ground pork and stir to break up the meat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat starts to color, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the wine and cook, scraping the bottom of the pan to incorporate the browned bits, until the alcohol smell is cooked off. Add the tomatoes, 1 tablespoon salt, the basil, oregano and bay leaves and season well with freshly ground black pepper. Stir until well mixed and the tomatoes start to simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the flavors meld, at least 10 minutes and up to 1 hour.
• For the lasagna: Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.
• Spread 2 cups of the sauce in a thin layer over the bottom of a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Layer 4 noodles over the sauce, top with 2 cups more sauce and spread it evenly over the noodles. Evenly dollop one-quarter of the ricotta across the sauce, top with one-quarter of the mozzarella and sprinkle evenly with one-quarter of the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, for a total of 4 layers.
• Cover with foil and bake until the liquids are bubbling and the noodles are beginning to soften, about 40 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the top is golden brown and the noodles are completely tender, about 20 minutes more. Allow to rest 20 minutes before cutting.

THREE-CHEESE LASAGNA WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Steps:

• FOR SAUCE:
• Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, carrots and garlic; sauté until softened, about 12 minutes. Add beef and 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 3/4 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 5 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 5 noodles, remaining ricotta-spinach mixture, 2 cups mozzarella and 1 1/2 cups sauce. Arrange remaining 5 noodles over sauce. Spread remaining sauce over noodles. Sprinkle remaining 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup 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.

THREE-CHEESE SAUSAGE LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain and set aside. , In a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper until smooth; gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat., In a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish, layer with a fourth of the white sauce, three noodles, half of the sausage and four pieces each of mozzarella and provolone cheeses. Repeat layers once. Spoon half of the remaining sauce over the top. Layer with remaining noodles, sauce, mozzarella and provolone cheeses; sprinkle with Romano cheese. , Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.

FREE-FORM SAUSAGE AND THREE CHEESE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook lasagna noodles until almost tender, about 5 minutes, then drain. Pat noodles dry then transfer to bowl and toss with olive oil.
• In a medium skillet, heat 1 tbl of the olive oil. Add Italian sausage, cover and cook over moderate heat, turning once, until browned all over. Add the water, cover and simmer until the sausage is just cooked through, about 4 minutes.
• In a large skillet, heat the remaining 2 tbls of olive oil. Add the garlic and cook over low heat until golden, about 3 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes with their juices and cook over moderate heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the sausage and its poaching liquid and simmer for 4 minutes. Transfer sausage to a plate. Simmer the sauce over moderate heat until thickened, about 12 minutes. Coarsely break up the sausage and season the sauce with salt and pepper.
• In a well-buttered, 9 x 13 inch ceramic baking dish, arrange 3 lasagna noodles in different directions in the dish, leaving about 2 inches of overhang. Spoon a scant 1/4 cup of the tomato sauce over each lasagna noodle and sprinkle with a little grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Set a piece of mozzarella and Fontina on each lasagna noodle and add a few chunks of sausage.
• Fold the overhanging lasagna noodles on top of the cheese and sausage.
• Repeat the process with the remaining lasagna noodles, tomato sauce, mozzarella, Fontina and sausage sprinkling with a litle more Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
• Brush the softened butter on any bare pasta and curly edges and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano.
• Bake on the top rack of the oven for 20 minutes, until the sauce starts to bubble. Raise the oven temp to 450 degrees and bake for about 7 minutes longer until the top is richly browned.
• Let the lasagna rest for about 10 minutes, then scatter the sliced basil on top.