Alexis Fire Roasted Lasagna Food

FIRE-ROASTED FIERI LASAGNA

Steps:

• 1.To prepare the ragu, place the tomatoes in a food processor and pulse until chunky. Set aside.
• 2.In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil. Add the carrots and onion and cook until the onion is translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant. Add the ground beef, sausage, and pepperoni and season with the salt. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the meat is browned all over, using a wooden spoon to break up the meat as it cooks. Add the tomato paste and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until fragrant.
• 3.Dust the flour over the mixture and stir well to combine. Stir in the reserved tomatoes, basil, marjoram, oregano, black pepper, and chili flakes. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Using a large spoon, skim off any oil that accumulates on the surface. (The ragu can be prepared 2 to 3 days ahead of time; store it in a covered container in the refrigerator until ready to use.)
• 4.To prepare the lasagna, in a large stockpot over medium-high heat, bring 2 gallons of water to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons of the salt. Add the lasagna noodles and stir gently to separate. Cook the lasagna noodles until al dente, 8 to 9 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare a large bowl of ice water. When the noodles are done, drain them, then plunge them immediately into the ice water for 30 seconds to stop the cooking process. Drain and spread the noodles on a rack.
• 5.In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, half of the Parmesan, the egg, nutmeg, and pepper. Mix well to combine and set aside.
• 6.In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, spinach, and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Saute the spinach until tender and wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and pour off any liquid. Transfer the spinach to a clean kitchen towel and twist it into a ball to squeeze out any excess moisture. Set aside.
• 7.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Have ready a heavy 10 x 14 x 3-inch lasagna pan.
• 8.To assemble the lasagna, ladle 1 cup of the ragu into the bottom and around the sides of the pan. Arrange several lasagna noodles on top of the sauce, slightly overlapping them to create an even layer that completely covers the ragu. Spread 2 cups of the ragu over the lasagna noodles, followed by one-third of the ricotta mixture, one-quarter of the mozzarella, and one-third of the spinach.
• 9.Arrange more noodles on top, overlapping to cover the spinach. Spread 2 cups ragu over the noodles, followed by half of the remaining ricotta, one-third of the mozzarella, and half of the spinach. Arrange more noodles on top. Spread 2 cups ragu over them, followed by the remaining ricotta, half of the remaining mozzarella, and the remaining spinach. Arrange more noodles on top. Spread the remaining ragu on top and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan and the basil, marjoram and oregano.
• 10. Cover the pan with heavy-grade plastic food wrap (or parchment paper), then wrap the whole pan tightly with aluminum foil. Place the pan on a baking sheet (to catch any drips) in the center of the oven. Bake for 1 hour. Remove the foil and plastic food wrap and bake for 20 minutes longer, until well browned around the edges and bubbling. Finish under the broiler if necessary. Cool for 20 minutes before serving.

ROASTED RED PEPPER LASAGNA

Steps:

• Cut each pepper into quarters; remove seeds. Place peppers, cut side down, on a foil-lined baking sheet. Broil 4 in. from the heat for 20-25 minutes or until skin is blistered and blackened. Immediately place peppers in a bowl; cover and let stand for 15-20 minutes. Peel off and discard skin. Cut peppers into 1/4-in. strips., Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions; drain. In a saucepan, cook red peppers and garlic in oil for 1 minute; add the tomatoes, parsley, sugar, basil and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. In a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour, salt and nutmeg until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened., Spread 1 cup pepper sauce in a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with three noodles, 1-1/2 cups pepper sauce, 1 cup white sauce and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers. Top with remaining noodles, white sauce and pepper sauce. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.

ALEXIS' FIRE ROASTED LASAGNA

Steps:

• Mix together the ricotta cheese, eggs, basil, oregano, parsley, garlic and 2 cups of the mozzarella. Cover the bottom of a 13 x 9 stoneware casserole dish with a layer of the noodles. Top with a layer of the ricotta mixture. Sprinkle a little more mozzarella on top, maybe 1/4-1/2 cup. Cover with another layer of noodles and add one half of the meat sauce, spreading it evenly. Repeat all of that for the third and fourth layer. Top the meat sauce with the mozzarella cheese and any of the ricotta mixture that is left. All this prep should take about 5 seconds if you are as fast as Alexis ;) Preheat your Big Green Egg to 375f set up for indirect heat. The Big Green Egg and other ceramic cookers are IDEAL for this since they are effectively wood/coal fired brick ovens. In this case, Alexis set up her Egg in the convection oven configuration with the plate setter in, legs down. Put spacers so the casserole dish did not sit directly on the plate setter. I used the 2 little green legs that came with the BGE. Place the uncovered casserole in the grill (on the legs) and close the lid..... Cook the lasagna for 1 hour or until hot and the cheesey gooey crust is golden brown. She rotated hers once during the cook for even cooking. Remove from heat and let rest for 15-20 minutes to cool down. Meanwhile place 1/2 loaf of french bread, split, face down directly on your plate setter (only if it is clean like Alexis'. I would have to put foil on mine before doing this). For regular grills, you could use a preheated pizza stone as long as it was HOT. Cook the bread cut side down for 2-3 minutes until browned and then flip. Brush with a mix of clarified butter, parsley, and minced garlic. Cook for 2 minutes more or until golden brown

RUSTIC LASAGNA

Steps:

• Cook lasagna noodles per pkg; preheat oven to 350°F.; grease a 13 X 9 baking dish.
• In a small bowl, combine the tomato sauce, garlic and oregano.
• In a separate bowl, combine the broccoli, carrot, ricotta cheese and parmesan cheese, mixing well.
• Drain the noodles.
• Spread 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce mixture in the bottom of the baking dish; place 3 lasagna noodles on top.
• Spread 1/2 of the broccoli mixture over the noodles; spread 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce mixture over the broccoli mixture; place 3 lasagna noodles on top.
• Spread the remaining broccoli mixture on the noodles; top with 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce mixture.
• Top with the remaining noodles; then the remaining tomato sauce; then all the mozzarella cheese.
• Bake in the preheated 350°F oven for 45 minutes or until bubbling.
• Remove from the oven and place on a wire cooling rack; let cool/settle for 15 min before you cut and serve.