#26 Italian Grinder Lasagna

Saturday November 13th I made the first of the 5 new lasagna recipes that I plan to make before my thirtieth birthday. The cookbook is Lasagna: 50 Recipes for the Original One-Dish Meal by Dwayne Ridgaway. The introduction of the book is a history of lasagna and its many interpretations from the basic, traditional forms to the more liberal ones. He explains that there are three elements to a lasagna: (1) wide, flat noodles, (2) layers, and (3) a cooking vessel in which the dish is both cooked and served. He uses at least 2 of these, more commonly 3, in all 50 of the recipes in his book.

Chapter 1 is Lasagna - Making Basics which he uses to go over various types of noodles, sauces, and other ingredients, as well as assembly, storage and reheating. Then he has 5 main chapters with the different types of lasagna. Classic Lasagna, Lasagna Around the World, Vegetarian and Lighter Lasagna, Breakfast Lasagna, and Dessert Lasagna. These are the 5 chapters from which I will be choosing various recipes to make. His final chapter (7), A Few Key Recipes, has some different sauce recipes, and a recipe for making fresh pasta dough.

So my first lasagna was from the classic lasagna chapter and is called the Italian Grinder Lasagna. To begin, I first had to make the sauce which was in chapter 7.

Quick Tomato Sauce

2 (28 ounce) cans best- quality peeled plum tomatoes with juice

4 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 Tbsp coarse salt

1 Tbsp sugar

6 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 cup red wine

Place all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring and boiling for about 5 minutes, crushing the tomatoes with the back of a spoon while stirring. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to five days. The sauce may be made, chilled, and frozen in airtight containers for up to three months.

I made this sauce in the morning and refrigerated it until later. I cut all the ingredients in half since the lasagna recipe only called for 2 1/4 cups of sauce. Half the recipe made more like 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups. I also just roughly tore the basil leaves so that they wouldn't be whole when biting into them later. The sauce smelled delicious! I think I will have to make it again to use on regular spaghetti or maybe a Chicken Parmesan.

Italian Grinder Lasagna

1 lb ricotta cheese

3 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped

1 Tbsp dried oregano

2 eggs

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 lb dried lasagna noodles or fresh pasta sheets cut into lasagna noodles

2 1/4 cups Quick Tomato Sauce

1/2 lb prosciutto, thinly sliced

1/2 lb Genoa salami, thinly sliced

1/2 lb smoked ham, thinly sliced

1/2 lb sweet capicola, thinly sliced

1/2 lb provolone cheese, thinly sliced

1/2 lb shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven 375 degrees. Coat the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish evenly with olive oil. In a large mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese, basil, oregano, eggs, pepper flakes, and Parmesan cheese. Mix until eggs are thoroughly combined.

In a large pot of salted, boiling water, cook the dried pasta according to package directions; cook fresh pasta for 2 minutes. Drain the pasta and rinse it with cold water. Place it on a paper towel to dry before using it in the dish.

Place 3/4 cup tomato sauce on the bottom of the baking dish. Top with a layer of lasagna noodles. Top noodles with 1/3 cup of the ricotta cheese mixture, spreading evenly over the noodles. Top with another layer of pasta. Top pasta with half of the meats, layering them evenly. Top the meat with half of the provolone, and top this with half of the shredded mozzarella cheese. Repeat with layer of pasta, then 3/4 cup of sauce, then 1/3 cup ricotta cheese mixture. Top the ricotta cheese mixture with another layer of pasta, then the remainder of the meats, provolone cheese, and mozzarella cheese. Finish with a final layer of pasta, topped with the remainder of the tomato sauce and the remaining ricotta cheese mixture.

Coat a large sheet of aluminum foil with oil and cover the baking pan with it, oil-side down. Bake for 30 minutes, covered. Remove foil and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until the top is bubbly and the cheese begins to brown. Remove the lasagna from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before cutting to serve.

We went to 3 delis looking for the sweet capicola, with no luck. I ended up using panchetta instead. Next time I will try to use more sauce, and for each layer of the ricotta cheese mixture I will use about 1/2 to 2/3 cups instead of just 1/3 because there was quite a bit left at the end and it was spread very thinly throughout.

Overall, I think everyone enjoyed this recipe. I certainly did! Dominic's Dad and the family were all here to enjoy it with us. We had salad on the side, and it was so filling, that there was no need for bread or rolls of any kind.

One lasagna down, four to go!