Saturday, May 23, 2009

Country Lasagne


If I'm going to the trouble of making lasagna, this recipe (scroll down for recipe) is the one I'll have open on the counter. It's a little more time consuming than some, but who makes homemade lasagna to save time? I pulled a pan out of the freezer this week, and we were in Italian-food heaven, with an arugula salad and ciabatta on the side (we always have carbs with our carbs!)

n.o.e.'s notes:

- This lasagne freezes beautifully; wrap in plastic wrap first then foil. Having a batch in the freezer always makes me feel prepared for anything (well, except for those folks in my life who don't eat meat/pork)

- I've used turkey sausage instead of pork.

- Fresh or dried pasta can be used.


the recipe:

Country Lasagne
from The Hay Day Cookbook

2 T butter
1 small carrot, finely chopped
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T chopped parsley
1 dried chili pepper, broken into pieces
1 lb lean pork shoulder, ground
3/4 c. dry white wine
2 c crushed tomatoes, or 6 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 lb hot pork sausage
1 lb fresh pasta sheets, cut in 2-inch strips, or 1 lb lasagne noodles
1 c fresh ricotta cheese
4 T grated Parmesan cheese
6 oz mozzarella cheese, grated

Melt butter an brown carrot, onions, garlic, and parsley. Add the chili pepper. Add the pork. Lower the heat and brown meat thoroughly. Add wine, boil until it evaporates, and then add tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and simmer gently until pork is tender.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Twenty minutes before pork is done (it should simmer a total of about 1 hour), add the sausage. Cook pasta, drain, and layer in a 2 quart baking dish with meat sauce, ricotta, and Parmesan, repeating the layers until the dish is full. Top with mozzarella and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

I'm sending this to Presto Pasta Nights, a creation of Ruth at Once Upon A Feast. This weekly round up of delicious pasta dishes from bloggers all over the world is hosted this week by Sara of I'm a Food Blog.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

YUM. It looks delicious. You must have a never ending freezer. :P

Jessica said...

That looks fantastic and I heartily approve of carbs with carbs, yum! I just got the Hay Day cookbook at Half Price Books about a week ago and now I'm even more excited about it!

Audrey said...

Oh, yum. Just yum. Have you made the Hay Day vegetable lasagna? That was a favorite of mine for years, and I haven't made in so long! (It took me a while to realize all those years ago that you can't freeze it because the fresh plum tomato slices get rubbery. The things we do when we're young...)

Mmm, though, I think there are maybe four of us now who have this book? Do you think we could/should think about the cook-along we talked about, in our (ahem) spare time? Maybe just a round up once or twice? Oh, let's!

NKP said...

And to think, it all came from Nancy's magical freezer. I picture it like Mary Poppin's carpet bag, just never stops producing amazing things.
Looks delish!

Madam Chow said...

I've been thinking of making lasagne, and this recipe looks fantastic!

Pamela said...

Oh, I am definitely trying this one! Looks terrific.

Di said...

Ooh, that looks fabulous! I love lasagna, but don't make it all that often. It's definitely good for lots of leftovers when I do.

TeaLady said...

Nancy - that looks totally delicious. And like you told me once, carbs with a side of carbs. How can you beat that. Perfect meal. Wanna try this one.

Have started making my own pasta now on a regular basis so this would fit right in. Thanks.

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

YES!!! We all need several of these magic dishes we can pull from the freezer.
Seems we're together on the turkey sausage thing.

Kayte said...

Oh, this looks so good...thanks for the recipe.

Sara said...

haha, we always eat carbs with our carbs too! Knowing you, I am not surprised that you pulled this deliciousness out of the freezer. Your freezer really is a treasure trove! It looks delicious and now I might have to make some lasagna this weekend. I have the perfect meat sauce left over in the freezer.

Unknown said...

That looks so fabulous Nancy! I love lasagna and I love that it can be made and stuck in the freezer.

Ruth Daniels said...

And who doesn't like carbs with carbs? Great looking lasagna. Thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Nights.

The Food Hunter said...

I love lasagna...yours looks really good.