Lasagna With Basil And Fennel Recipes

Steps:

• To make the meat ragu: Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until soft and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Add the ground beef, sausage, salt, basil, Italian seasoning, oregano and pepper to taste and increase the heat to high. Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until browned all over. Add the tomatoes. Pour some of the wine into the empty tomato boxes to rinse out the last bits of tomatoes and add to the pot, along with the remaining wine. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the sauce thickens and the flavors come together, about 1 hour. Add a healthy amount of black pepper.
• To make the besciamella: Heat the milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until just simmering, then turn off the heat. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the flour to the butter and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and then loosens again, about 2 minutes. Add the hot milk, whisking constantly. Bring to a boil. Add the nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook, whisking almost constantly, for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and use immediately.
• To make the lasagna: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Spread an even layer of the meat ragu over the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles over the sauce lengthwise across the short side of the pan. Avoid overlapping or allowing them to touch the sides of the pan because they will expand as they cook. Press down slightly to let the sauce spread around them. Cover with one-quarter of the besciamella and sprinkle with one-third of the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Add another layer of ragu. Add 3 more noodles, arranging them in the opposite direction from the first layer and breaking 1 of the noodles in half if necessary to fit. Add one-quarter of the besciamella and half of the mozzarella. Make a third layer of ragu, noodles (alternating directions again), besciamella and one-third of the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Add another layer of ragu, then the remaining mozzarella, noodles (alternating the noodles again), besciamella and ragu.
• Cover the pan with foil and bake until heated through, about 35 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the top is brown and bubbling, about 20 minutes more. During the last 10 minutes of baking, scatter the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano all over. Let the lasagna stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset, over medium heat. Add the fennel and onion and saute for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Add the sausage and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, crumbling it with a fork, until nicely browned. Add the garlic, crushed fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper and cook for one minute. Pour in the wine, bring to a boil, and add the heavy cream, half-and-half, and tomato paste. Bring back to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add 2 tablespoons salt, and cook the rigatoni according to the directions on the package. Drain and add to the sauce, stirring to coat the pasta. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes to allow the pasta to absorb the sauce. Off the heat, stir in the parsley and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan. Serve hot in shallow bowls with the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan on the side.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil. Boil lasagna noodles 6 to 8 minutes until al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water. Lay noodles flat and remove excess water with a paper towel.
• In a skillet, brown the ground beef over medium-high heat. Add onion, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Cook until there is no remaining pink color in beef. Drain any liquids and set aside.
• In a large bowl, mix together ricotta cheese, Romano cheese, 2 cups of the spaghetti sauce and the seasoned ground beef. Mix until well blended. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Add a thin layer of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Add a layer of noodles lengthwise and a few noodles in the opposite direction. Pour in a generous layer of ricotta mixture on top of noodles. Top ricotta layer with several basil leaves. Add another layer of noodles lengthwise. Spread on 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Line up the zucchini slices on top of the mozzarella cheese. Add another thin layer of ricotta cheese. Add the last layer of noodles lengthwise. Top the noodles with the remaining spaghetti sauce, several more basil leaves in an eye catching arrangement and top with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese.
• Bake in a preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes. If Mozzarella cheese becomes too browned, loosely cover with a piece of foil.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Mix first 7 ingredients., Spread 1/2 cup pasta sauce into a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Layer with 3 lasagna noodles, 3/4 cup ricotta mixture, 1 cup spinach, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 2/3 cup sauce. Repeat layers twice. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese., Bake, covered, 35 minutes. Uncover; bake until lasagna is heated through and cheese is melted, 10-15 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. , Freeze option: Cover and freeze unbaked lasagna. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake lasagna as directed, increasing time as necessary to heat through and for a thermometer inserted in center to read 165°.

Steps:

• Cook noodles according to package directions; drain. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, cook sausage, beef and onion over medium heat 8-10 minutes or until meat is no longer pink, breaking up meat into crumbles. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Drain., Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, water, sugar, 3 tablespoons parsley, basil, fennel, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes, stirring occasionally., In a small bowl, mix egg, ricotta cheese and remaining parsley and salt., Preheat oven to 375°. Spread 2 cups meat sauce into an ungreased 13x9-in. baking dish. Layer with 3 noodles and a third of the ricotta mixture. Sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella cheese and 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining meat sauce and cheeses (dish will be full)., Bake, covered, 25 minutes. Bake, uncovered, 25 minutes longer or until bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Make the pasta: Combine spinach, eggs, salt and olive oil in a blender or food processor and purée until smooth. Transfer to a mixing bowl and stir in flour. Knead mixture into a soft dough. If sticky, add a little more flour. Form into a ball, wrap in plastic, and set aside to rest while you prepare the other elements.
• Make the filling: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add spinach and let wilt for a few seconds. Drain spinach in a colander and rinse well with cold water. Squeeze spinach dry and chop roughly.
• Put ricotta in a mixing bowl and stir in chopped spinach. Stir in lemon zest and crushed fennel seed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Set a large skillet over medium-high heat and add sausage meat. Cook, breaking up with a spatula, until crumbled. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring, until just cooked through. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.
• For the béchamel, melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and let cook for about 1 minute, stirring; do not let mixture brown.
• Whisk in milk 1/2 cup at a time, letting sauce thicken after each addition. Add bay leaf, cayenne and nutmeg and continue cooking over low heat, whisking frequently, for about 10 minutes, to create a smooth sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Thin with a little more milk if necessary; consistency should be that of a not-too-thick milkshake. If needed, strain sauce to remove lumps. Keep warm in a double boiler to prevent thickening.
• Make the tomato sauce: In a saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and basil and let sizzle without browning, 1 minute or less. Add tomato purée and bring to a simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, until slightly thickened. Remove from heat, pull out the basil leaves, and whisk in butter. Set aside.
• Roll out the pasta: Set up a pasta machine and divide the dough into 5 roughly equal pieces. Roll each piece into a thin sheet of pasta about 12 inches long. Rolling twice at the second-to-last setting on the machine should give you the right thickness. Set aside on baking sheets, dust lightly with flour and keep covered with a slightly damp kitchen towel to prevent them from drying out.
• Butter a medium-large baking dish, not larger than 9 by 13 inches. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Cook the pasta: Have a large pot of salted boiling water on the stove and a large bowl of ice water nearby. One by one, place pasta sheets in boiling water to par-cook for about 1 minute, leaving pasta quite firm. Using tongs or a spider, lift pasta out and plunge into ice water. Lift out and lay on a clean kitchen towel to blot. Cut into two pieces.
• As the pasta is cooked, assemble the lasagna: Place 2 sheets cooked pasta side by side, in the bottom of the baking dish. Spread pasta with 1/2 cup béchamel and dot with one-quarter of the ricotta mixture. Sprinkle over one fourth of crumbled sausage and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan. Repeat process for each layer. You will have 4 layers. Finish with 2 sheets of pasta. Spread top with 1/2 cup béchamel and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. (The lasagna can be made up to this point up to 1 day in advance, covered and refrigerated.)
• Cover with foil and bake about 30 minutes, until lasagna is bubbling. (If baking a refrigerated lasagna, this will take longer, up to 60 minutes.) Remove foil and bake uncovered for about 15 minutes, until lightly browned on top. Let lasagna rest for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting.
• Just before serving, reheat tomato sauce. To serve, cut lasagna into 3- or 4-inch squares. With a spatula, transfer each serving to individual plates. Spoon about ½ cup tomato sauce around each serving. Garnish with basil leaves.

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

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.

Steps:

• Notes: I purchase store bought fresh pasta. For the Roasted Tomato Sauce the ingredients are listed from the tomatoes line. Having extra sauce on hands is suggested, when cooking with fresh pasta it dries out and gets chewy. I double the sauce recipe. Do not over-bake this recipe. Due to the cheese it will burn and get chewy.
• Variation: Add garlic to taste to the sauce, roasting it with the tomatoes is good. I also tried this with 1 pound of browned lean ground beef. I added a can of tomato sauce until the sauce was the right consistency to cover the lasagna with.
• For the filling stir together the cheeses, basil, oregano, thawed and completely drained spinach, black pepper to taste.
• Set aside filling.
• For the roasted tomato sauce preheat oven to 350.
• In a large roasting pan add all ingredients and bake for 1 hour until skins are slightly charred.
• Once cooled, blend quickly in a blender to coarsely chop (30 seconds).
• Cover and chill until ready to use.
• Place about 2/3 cup of the cheese filling on each pasta sheet.
• Spread evenly leaving a one inch border along the sides.
• Fold the two long sides over edges of filling, then with sides in place, roll up to form a packet that encases the filling.
• Place filled packets in a shallow casserole dish.
• Top each with 1/2 cup or more of sauce to cover the packet.
• Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes or until sauce is bubbly (at 350 degrees I bake for 20-25 minutes) or lower oven temperature to 300 for 30 minutes.

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.