Classic Lasagna

Oct 15, 2012 by Lindsey

Today was a magical day.

I have been so busy lately buzzing from one project to another that I rarely have time to just cook. Some nights, I whip up some stir fry, tortellini, pizza, or other 15-minute meals that my husband and I can enjoy after we have both worked late into the evening. Today was different though. I tied my apron on and chopped, boiled, rinsed, simmered, baked, and grated. It was so cathartic! If preparing this recipe does not make your heart soar like it does mine, then eating it surely will.

 

 

Here is how to make my favorite, heart-warming lasagna.

Ingredients

1 box of lasagna noodles

1 cup yellow onion, diced

2 garlic cloves minced

2 tbps olive oil

1 lb sweet italian sausage, casings removed

28 oz crushed tomatoes with basil

6 oz tomato paste

1 egg, beaten

6 oz goat cheese

12 oz riccotta cheese

1 lb mozzarella cheese

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1.5 cup freshly grated parmesean

1 pinch of red pepper flakes, to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and prepare a large casserole dish.

Start by soaking the lasagna noodles in a bowl of hot tap water. Let them sit until you are ready to assemble the casserole. *Tip: Soak your onion in there also so you do not cry when chopping

In a large pan, simmer the onion for five minutes in olive oil. After 5 minutes, add the chopped garlic and stir for one minute.

Add the sausage and break apart. Cook until no longer pink. Add the crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Now is time for an important step. Put away your Kraft Parmesan powder and grate yourself some real, fresh parmesan cheese. A $30 box grater will change your life. The real cheese makes all the difference!

While the sauce is simmering, combine the egg, ricotta, goat cheese, fresh Parmesan, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Set aside.

 After the sauce has simmered for 10 to 15 minutes, pour 1/2 of the sauce onto the bottom of a casserole dish.

Everything that is right in the world is about to happen in this pan. Get ready. After the first layer of sauce goes down, drain the noodles from the water and place a layer across the pan.  (I am such a geek, I just typed “lawyer” instead of “layer.” Pathetic!) Next, a layer half of the ricotta mixture topped with half of the mozzarella.

Now, do it all again. Layer the remainder of the sauce, noodles, ricotta, mozzarella.

Top with some freshly-grated parmesan cheese and a dash of red pepper. I was feeling a little spicy tonight. Put in the oven for 30 minutes, uncovered.

The end result is a golden, bubbly, delicious-smelling miracle right on your stovetop. Let it sit for 10 minutes before diving in.

 How can you not love this? The goat cheese is the perfect savory ingredient to this dish; harmonizing with the sweet italian sausage and salty parmesan cheese. Jason and I enjoyed this meal watching our latest TV-obsession, “Damages” with Glenn Close. We are almost done with Season 2 and are dying to know who put the hit on Uncle Pete. And where does Ellen get her fabulous lawyer-chic wardrobe? Everything about this show intrigues me lately. Luckily, the comforting effects of this lasagna has kept us calm and collected.  You should see what it does for you!

See you guys next time! Thank you for reading my blog, and enjoy!

Lindsey

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Hearty Lasagna Soup

Jan 23, 2012 by Lindsey

This weekend was a blur. I am in class 7 days a week, so my Mondays feel like Saturdays, albeit with better TV. A lot of great things went on, though. I made this amazing soup on Sunday night, had dinner with friends on Friday, and I got a new dishwasher!

To many of you, this is understandably not a big deal. However, once you live for two months without a functioning dishwasher, you would understand why I did a happy dance when it was installed. I’m pretty certain that women like me were using dishwashers before they could legally vote, so I am glad to be caught up now. What did I cook to celebrate this week?

My version of Lasagna Soup.

My shiny new dishwasher was put to use quickly, as I had been waiting for it to be installed to cook this wonderful soup. I loosely based my version of lasgana soup from this one, substituting a few things like whole turkey sausage, beef stock, and cavatelli pasta. It was a hit in my house! This is more of a “stew” than a soup because the pasta absorbs so much of the liquid in the broth. You’ll find that serving up bowls of hot sausage, pasta, and cheese with fresh italian rolls just feels right on a wintery Sunday night. It tastes like a sweet, tomato-y, cheesy version of your favorite lasagna. We were happy campers at the end of this dish.

You really must know how I did this.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 8 links of italian turkey sausage, halved and sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 6 cups beef broth
• 1 medium can of diced tomatoes with italian seasoning
• 1 box small pasta, like cavatelli (fusilli would also be great)
• Cheese Topping: 1/2 cup ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup parmesean cheese, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions

Using a large soup pot, brown the sausage in olive oil.

After 2-3 minutes, add the garlic, onion, and red pepper flakes and sautee over medium-high heat.

When the onions are translucent and fragrant, add the tomato paste and stir for about four minutes, until it begins to turn a “burnt,” dark red color.

When the tomato sauce has begun to change colors, add the diced tomatoes and beef broth. Turn up the heat and bring the mixture to a boil.

At this point, it smelled so good that I was nudging hungry puppies and fiancees aside to keep them out of my blog photographs. They were all interested in what was going on! As soon as the soup begins to boil, add the whole box of cavatelli pasta. These little shells look so inviting!

Turn the heat down to a simmer and allow the pasta to cook  in the soup for approximately 8 minutes. Turn the heat off when the pasta is al dente (slightly firm), and the noodles will continue to cook fully while soup comes to room temperature.

While the pasta was cooking, I put 8 Whole-Foods brand frozen french rolls in the oven to serve with the soup. I was not excited about these rolls at first, but my goodness! They were delicious! Hot, fluffy, and hearty enough to hold up next to this robust lasagna soup. I’ll be buying these again.

Before serving the soup, mix the ricotta cheese, parmesean, salt and pepper together in a bowl. Top each bowl of soup with a generous tablespoon or two of the cheese mixture. As you eat, the cheese will permeate every nook and cranny of the noodles and sausage. A sprinkle of low-fat shredded mozzarella never hurt anyone, either. This is what puts the “lasagna” in lasagna soup.

Yum. This soup is surpringly sweet, tomato-y, cheesy and extremely hearty. The rolls were a perfect accompaniment to our dinner. I loved mixing the cheese in and watching it melt into the nooks of the tiny cavatelli noodles.

You’re going to love this. It’s one of the best soup recipes I’ve ever made.

I hope this brightens your week! Back to the books for this girl!

Lots of love,

Lindsey

 

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Ina Garten’s Turkey Lasagna

Sep 21, 2011 by Lindsey

For all of you Food Network fans out there, let me announce my love for the Barefoot Contessa. Her recipes are always amazing and she is one of the few celebrity chefs without an annoying personality. I made her turkey lasagna recipe for friends last weekend, and what a crowd-pleaser it was! We all ate in the formal dining room, drank plenty of wine, and discussed everything that is wrong with Toddlers and Tiaras. It was a lovely night and this lasagna was just the perfect dinner for us.

Here is the turkey lasagna I made for friends. It creates a whopping 8-10 servings, so keep your tupperware handy after you’re through. Ina’s calls for uncased turkey sausage, but I winged it with ground turkey and extra italian seasoning. It still turned out beautifully! The addition of goat cheese was brilliant – it gave the dish a subtle flavor which put extra “wow” in every bite. That just reminds you that this was not made by Stouffer’s.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed (or 2 lb ground turkey sausage mixed with italian seasoning)
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes in tomato puree
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 pound lasagna noodles
• 15 ounces ricotta cheese
• 3 to 4 ounces creamy goat cheese, crumbled
• 1 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling
• 1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

Directions

Preheat to 400 degrees.

Heat the olive oil in a large (10 to 12-inch) skillet. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the sausage and cook over medium-low heat, breaking it up with a fork, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until no longer pink. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the basil, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat, for 15 to 20 minutes, until thickened.

Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with the hottest tap water. Add the noodles and allow them to sit in the water until you need them, then drain.

 

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, goat cheese, 1 cup of Parmesan, the egg, the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.

Ladle 1/3 of the sauce into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch rectangular baking dish, spreading the sauce over the bottom of the dish. Then add the layers as follows: half the pasta, half the mozzarella, half the ricotta, and one 1/3 of the sauce. Add the rest of the pasta, mozzarella, ricotta, and finally, sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling.

I served the lasagna with a pinot noir, simple side salad, and garlic bread. It was the centerpiece for a deligtful Sunday evening!

Lots of love,

Lindsey

 

 

 

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