Peasant’s Lasagna

This is a simple but elegantly tasty lasagna that is so easy to make even an engineer can be a master. Like all pasta dishes, the entree depends on the sauce you use, I have a several Italian red sauces you can try, but linked to the one I think is best for this recipe.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Italian sausage – ground
  • 1 Onion – diced
  • 2 Garlic cloves – minced
  • 1 tsp Fennel seeds – or to taste
  • 32 oz Marinara sauce – please not from a jar
  • 16 oz Spinach – if you use frozen, make sure its thawed and drained
  • 1 pck Lasagna noodles – l like uncooked but the cook version works well
  • 1 Egg – beaten (but not reported to your neighborhood Karen)
  • 30 oz Ricotta cheese – probably two containers
  • 16 oz Mozzarella – shredded
  • 4 oz Parmesan cheese – grated

Process

  1. Mise en Place – measure and prepare your ingredients prior to starting.
  2. Prepare your Marinara sauce.
  3. Cook the sausage with fennel, onion and garlic.
    1. If using fresh spinach, add and cook meat 1 more min., then drain.
    2. If using frozen spinach: remove meat from heat, drain and add spinach.
    3. Set aside.
  4. Cook the pasta if you are using uncooked pasta.
  5. Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).
  6. Make cheese mix: Mix the cheeses and egg together and set aside
  7. Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a 9″ x 13″ baking pan.
  8. Build Lasagna in three repeated steps, using 1/3rd of the ingredients for each step
    1. Cover the top with pasta.
    2. Spread cheese mixture over pasta
    3. Sprinkle sausage mixture over cheese
    4. Cover with sauce
    5. Repeat
  9. Bake Lasagna
    1. Cover pan with foil and bake for 45 mins. The cover keeps the Lasagna moist.
    2. Remove cover and bake 15 mins.
    3. If sauce is not bubbling or cheese does not appear baked, broil for 2-3 mins., but watch it.
  10. Let lasagna rest on a rack for a minimum of 15 mins, which give you time to make your garlic bread and salad.

Note: It is very important to let the lasagna rest for at least 15 minutes. This will keep it from becoming runny and help it to keep its shape when cut, and most important, will keep your dinner guests from burining their mouths from hot cheese.

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