Sausage Cheese And Basil Lasagna Food

SAUSAGE, CHEESE AND BASIL LASAGNA

Steps:

• Sauce:
• Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add sausages, onion, garlic, oregano and crushed red pepper and sauté until sausage is cooked through, mashing sausage into small pieces with back of fork, about 10 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes and diced tomatoes with juices. Bring sauce to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 5 minutes to blend flavors. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill until cold, then cover and keep chilled.)
• Filling:
• Using on/off turns, chop fresh basil leaves finely in processor. Add ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Using on/off turns, process filling until just blended and texture is still chunky.
• Assembly:
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Spread 1 1/4 cups sauce in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Arrange 3 noodles on sauce. Drop 1 1/2 cups filling over noodles, then spread evenly to cover. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layering of sauce, noodles, filling and cheeses 2 more times. Top with remaining 3 noodles. Spoon remaining sauce atop noodles. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses. Spray large piece of foil with nonstick olive oil spray. Cover lasagna with foil, sprayed side down.
• Bake lasagna 40 minutes. Carefully uncover. Increase oven temperature to 400°F. Bake until noodles are tender, sauce bubbles thickly and edges of lasagna are golden and puffed, about 20 minutes. Transfer to work surface; let stand 15 minutes before serving.

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.

SAUSAGE LASAGNA

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a small pot bring the tomatoes, wine, whole basil sprigs, garlic, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper, to taste, to a simmer; cook until slightly thickened, 10 minutes; set aside.
• 2. Meanwhile, puree the cottage cheese in the bowl of a food processor until smooth. add the ricotta, spinach, 1/4 cup chopped basil, scallions, nutmeg, and salt and pepper and pulse until just combined; set aside.
• 3. Coat a large nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray set over medium heat. Cook the sausage and onion, breaking it up with a wooden spoon into small pieces, until the meat is browned and the onion tender, 10 minutes.
• 4. Assemble the lasagna: Mist a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Top with 3 noodles, half the ricotta mixture, half the sausage and 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers with sauce, noodles, remaining ricotta and sausage and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese. Top with remaining noodles and sauce. Cover with aluminum foil and bake until the noodles are tender and the sauce is bubbling around the edges of the pan, 1 hour.
• 5. Uncover, sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and continue to bake until melted, 10 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup basil. Serve.

SAUSAGE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. In a large skillet, cook and crumble sausage with onion over medium heat until no longer pink, 5-7 minutes; drain. Add garlic and tomato paste; cook and stir 1 minute. , Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, basil, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until slightly thickened, 10-15 minutes., In a bowl, mix egg, ricotta cheese, 1-1/4 cups Parmesan cheese and the remaining pepper. Spread 1-1/2 cups meat sauce into a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Layer with 4 noodles, 1-1/2 cups ricotta cheese mixture, 1-1/2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1-1/2 cups sauce. Repeat layers. Top with the remaining noodles, sauce and mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses., Cover with greased foil; bake 30 minutes. Uncover; bake until lightly browned and heated through, 5-10 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

HEARTY SAUSAGE AND CHEESE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a Dutch oven, cook sausage over medium heat 6-8 minutes or until no longer pink, breaking into crumbles. Remove with a slotted spoon. Discard drippings in pan., Add onions to same pan; cook and stir over medium heat until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, celery, parsley, bay leaf, brown sugar, oregano, salt and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf., Remove 1 cup sauce from pan. Stir cooked sausage into remaining sauce. Spread reserved sauce into a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Layer with three noodles and half of each of the following: sausage mixture, ricotta, mozzarella and provolone. Repeat layers (dish will be full)., Bake, covered, 55-65 minutes or until cheese is melted. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

LASAGNA WITH BASIL AND FENNEL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Mix 1 cup mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, egg and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese in medium bowl.
• Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and fennel seeds; sauté 5 minutes. Add beef; sauté 10 minutes, breaking up meat with fork. Mix in seasoning, then tomatoes, broth and wine. Cover and simmer 8 minutes. Season sauce to taste with pepper.
• Spoon 1 1/3 cups sauce over bottom of 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Place 3 noodles over sauce. Drop half of ricotta cheese mixture by tablespoonfuls evenly over. Top with half of basil leaves, 1 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Continue layering with 3 noodles, 2 cups sauce, remaining ricotta cheese mixture, remaining basil, 1 cup mozzarella cheese and remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Finish with 3 noodles, 2 cups sauce and remaining mozzarella cheese (reserve remaining sauce for another use). Cover with foil; place on baking sheet.
• Bake lasagna until heated through, about 1 hour. Uncover; let stand 15 minutes. Cut lasagna into squares.

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.

ONE-STEP LASAGNA WITH SAUSAGE AND BASIL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Sauté beef and sausage in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through, breaking up meats with back of spoon, about 4 minutes. Transfer meats to bowl.
• Combine spaghetti sauce, water and basil in large bowl. Spread 1 1/2 cups sauce mixture in bottom of 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Arrange 1/3 noodles, slightly overlapping if necessary, atop sauce. Spread half of ricotta over noodles. Sprinkle with half of mozzarella cheese, half of meat mixture and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Top with 1 1/2 cups sauce. Repeat layering with noodles, ricotta, mozzarella, meats and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Arrange remaining noodles over. Spoon remaining sauce over, covering completely. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan. Cover tightly with heavy-duty foil. Place on baking sheet.
• Bake until noodles are tender and lasagna is heated through, about 1 hour. Uncover; let stand 15 minutes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Rewarm covered in 350°F. oven about 45 minutes. ) Cut lasagna into squares and serve.