Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Sunday Dinner: Lasagna!

Last Sunday my brother-in-law, Jason had to fly back to Kuwait after being home on his R&R. I knew my sister and the kids would be really sad and Tara probably wouldn't feel much like cooking. My husband was still home on his own R&R, and he and I had been wanting to make lasagna with fresh pasta. So, we went out and got all the ingredients, put on some Doctor Who, and invited Tara and my little Whovians to come over for dinner.

Making lasagna is a bit of a task at times, but so rewarding! I like to get my sauce cooking first thing in the morning and let it simmer all day. Making the pasta would start about an hour before I want the lasagna in the oven so there is plenty of time to get it just the right thickness and smoothness. Mike was very helpful in this and actually did most of the pasta sheeting himself! I decided to try a few different things with this recipe, which is my own creation after some trial and error over the years. Namely I used Progresso's recipe starter Fire Roasted Tomato sauce to give a bit of depth to my sauce, which proved to be quite tasty.

This recipe made a lot more than I anticipated and will make one large 9x13 pan of lasagna and one smaller 2 quart baking pan lasagna. I let the smaller one sit and cool, then popped it in the freezer for one hour before slicing it up into pieces and sealing them with my vacu-sealer and popping them in the freezer for quick dinners during busy weeks.

For this lasagna you will need:

Sauce:
2 packages ground Italian sausage (I used my local grocer's fresh ground sausage, but Johnsonville's is really good too!)
2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 can Progresso Fire Roasted Tomato recipe starter sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
44 oz of tomato sauce
Garlic powder
Italian seasoning
Maggi (German Wurze seasoning, found in your international food section. If unavailable there is a yellow capped versions typically found with bouillon and soup mixes)

Filling:
1 large egg
3 bags mozzarella  cheese
2 cartons ricotta cheese
2 bags five Italian cheese blend
1 cup Parmesan cheese

Pasta:
5 large eggs
3 1/2 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-2 tablespoons of water

 
To begin, drizzle a little olive oil in the bottom of a Dutch oven and brown the sausage.


Add the recipe starter sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste. Add the Italian seasoning and garlic powder to taste. With the Maggi, just a good two shakes of the bottle (Perhaps two teaspoons if you wanted to measure) should provide just enough of that little zip. Its a very unique flavor, but I've found its excellent in pasta sauces. Salt and pepper to taste.




 
Cover the sauce and let simmer for several hours, at least 2-3 hours, stirring every now and then.


Now about an hour before you want to put your lasagna in the oven is a good time to get your pasta sheets together. Combine all the ingredients for the pasta in the bowl of the mixer, mix on 2 for 1 minute, then switch to the dough hook until ingredients are combined. Turn out on a floured surface and knead until smooth. Let rest for 20 minutes.

Attach the pasta sheeter (or use a hand cranked version) to the mixer and put to level one. Dividing the dough into three or four pieces, flatten each piece and run through the machine, folding into thirds before processing again until you get three passes with the dough smooth.

 
As the sheets are completed, lay them on a damp towel so they won't dry out. Drop the level down to 2 and run the sheets through, you do not need to fold them, just run them through and they will thin and lengthen. Repeat this process until you reach level 4.


Cut the sheets of pasta to fit the pan and preheat your oven to 375 degrees.


Now to mix the filling. Combine the ricotta, egg, one bag of mozzarella cheese and Parmesan in a bowl with Italian seasoning and garlic.






Spray your pan with cooking spray and then ladle about a cup of sauce onto the bottom of the pan.


Lay the sheets of pasta on top of the sauce, then spread with the ricotta mixture. Ladle sauce over the ricotta and sprinkle the Italian cheese blend on top.





Continue to layer in this manner until the top of the pan is reached. The second lasagna was done in the same manner but I used mozzarella instead of the five cheese blend. (I ran out and hadn't realized how much I made!)


Cover the lasagna with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional five to ten minutes or until cheese is browned. Let it rest ten to fifteen minutes to set up.


Yes it got a little messy. But most good food is messy! This was the first time I had ever used fresh pasta in a lasagna and I will do it this way from now on. The pasta was perfectly tender, the cheese melty, the sauce robust and meaty. The leftovers the next day were even better!

Gathered around Doctor Who, we had our dinner, laughing and giggling, pointing out our favorite parts. Tara discovered Captain Jack Harkness and saw why he's such a fangirl favorite! It was a nice evening and I know it made the kids feel a little better, though they still missed their dad terribly. It was still nice to know that a bit of lovin from the oven could be a comfort. I guess that's why its called comfort food!

Brightest Blessings!