Lasagna Dinner Recap: Lasagna Bolognese

kitchen

Oh look — it’s my messy kitchen from last Wednesday. Seriously, I spilled sauce on the floor (leftover sauce, that is ), dropped a lasagna noodle or two on the floor as well and did about six loads in the dishwasher before it was all over. And, then I blew off recapping it all on Friday to lay on the couch and re-watch Three Kings. (Mmmmmm…uh, I mean it’s all political and still timely and stuff and makes you think…).

But now the kitchen is pretty much back in order and the Donor Dinner is over and I am well rested. I thought I’d do the lasagna recap Monday, followed by appetizers, cookie flowers and whatever else Tuesday. Sound good? Good!

butternut squash

I made the Butternut Squash and Spinach lasagna, which I made before here, in triple-recipe form. It seemed to go over pretty well, with everyone commenting that it was very good. The big surprise was the meat lasagna, which got completely eaten — some people even had seconds. Crazy! I thought this was more of a vegetarian town.

I got the meat sauce from a lasagna recipe at Foodnetwork.com, tweaked it a bit and then kind of winged the ricotta part. The lasagna noodles are kind of self-explanatory.

lasagna

Lasagna Bolognese
I made this in a huge roasting-sized pan — so I doubled this recipe, which made about 18 big pieces.
1 small carrot, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 large onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup tomato paste
Three 28-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes, with liquid
1/2 cup red wine
2 tsp kosher salt plus to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground veal
1/2 pound ground pork
1 tbsp dried rosemary, crumbled into small pieces
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp fennel seeds, cracked

1 tub of ricotta
1 orange or yellow bell pepper
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 shallot, diced
1 tsp olive oil

1 pound dry lasagna noodles
8 oz mozzarella, shredded
1/2 cup parmesan

In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the pepper flakes and cook for 15 seconds. Add the onion, carrots and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes one at a time, crushing them by hand as you go. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Simmer the sauce over low heat, covered.

meat

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef, pork, veal, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and fennel seeds. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and pepper. Break up the meat with a wooden spoon, and cook until it loses its raw color, about 7 minutes. Add the meat to the sauce, holding back any excess fat. Add the wine and simmer the sauce, covered, over low heat, for 1 1/2 hours. (If the sauce gets too thick, adjust the consistency with water or more wine.) Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Now, cook the noodles. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, season generously with salt, and boil the lasagna noodles according to package instructions. Drain. Spread the noodles out and layer between pieces of plastic wrap. Set aside.

Next, prepare the ricotta by placing it in a mixing bowl. I never think plain ricotta has enough flavor, so I usually doctor it up a bit. Sauté the diced shallot and bell pepper in the olive oil until soft. Add to the ricotta, along with the parmesan, basil and garlic. Mix well and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an oven proof 9 x 13-inch casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.

lasagna

Cover the bottom of the pan with a layer of noodles. Cover with 1 1/2 cups of the meat sauce, and 3 tablespoons of parmesan cheese. Cover with another layer of noodles and spread the ricotta over the noodles. Cover with sauce and another layer of noodles. Repeat the sauce, parmesan and noodle layer again and end with the remaining sauce.

Cover the whole thing with the shredded mozzarella and any remaining parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered until bubbly and hot, about 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside for 10-15 minutes to firm up before serving.

I made the lasagnas the day before and then transported them over to the house where the dinner was that morning. Everything went fine with making the lasagnas ahead of time. But, as they had been refrigerated for about 22 hours, I let tehm both sit on the counter for about an hour before putting them in the oven.