An authentic Italian recipe from our kitchen to yours. Buon
Appetito!
Ingredients
- 1 recipe of our Homemade Pasta for Cannelloni and Lasagna or your favorite brand of premade lasagna
- 1 recipe of our Simple Homemade Italian Sausage without the casings or 2 pounds of your favorite brand of sausage, casings removed
- 2 plum tomatoes, diced
- 24 ounces strained tomato sauce
- 1 medium onion, peeled and minced
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and minced
- 1 stalk celery, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/3 cup red wine
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella shredded or diced into small pieces
- 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- Salt and pepper
Directions
1.
If
making
the
pasta
and
sausage
from
scratch,
prepare
these
recipes
before
proceeding.
2.
In a
pan
over
medium
high
heat,
add
the
olive
oil,
red
wine,
onions,
garlic,
carrots,
celery
and
bay
leaves.
Cover
the
pan
for
3 -
4
minutes
and
simmer.
3.
Uncover
the
pan
and
sauté
the
vegetables
until
the
onion
and
celery
begin
to
turn
translucent.
Then
add
the
sausage
to
the
pan.
Using
a
spatula
or
the
back
of a
fork,
continuously
sauté
the
sausage
and
break
it
up
into
small
loose
pieces.
Continue
sautéing
the
sausage
until
it
begins
to
brown.
4.
Add
the
diced
tomatoes
to
the
pan,
lower
the
heat
to
medium
and
simmer
for
5 -
10
minutes
or
until
the
tomatoes
begin
to
break
down.
5.
At
this
point,
add
the
strained
tomato
sauce
to
the
pan
along
with
10
ounces
of
water.
Stir
the
ingredients
well
to
combine
and
bring
the
mixture
to a
boil.
6.
When
the
sauce
begins
to
boil,
lower
the
heat,
cover
the
pan
and
simmer
the
sauce
for
15 -
20
minutes,
stirring
occasionally.
After
15 -
20
minutes,
taste
the
sauce
and
add
salt
and
pepper
to
your
taste.
If
the
sauce
is
too
thin,
raise
the
heat,
uncover
the
pan
and
boil
the
sauce
until
it
reaches
your
desired
consistency.
If
the
sauce
is
too
thick,
add
1/4
cup
of
water
until
it
thins
to
your
liking.
7.
When
the
sauce
is
ready,
remove
it
from
the
heat
and
set
it
aside
to
cool
slightly.
8.
If
you
are
using
premade
lasagna,
prepare
the
pasta
according
to
the
manufacturer's
instructions.
9.
Preheat
the
oven
to
425
degrees.
10.
Line
an
oven
safe
baking
dish
with
parchment
paper,
butter
it
or
spray
it
with
nonstick
cooking
spray
to
prevent
the
lasagna
from
sticking
to
the
dish.
11.
To
assemble
the
lasagna,
spoon
several
generous
spoonfuls
of
the
tomato
sauce
into
the
bottom
of
the
baking
dish
so
that
it
covers
the
bottom
of
the
dish
lightly.
12.
Add
the
first
layer
of
pasta
to
the
baking
dish,
and
then
spoon
a
generous
spoonful
of
the
meat
sauce
over
the
pasta.
Spread
the
meat
sauce
evenly
over
the
pasta,
making
sure
to
reach
the
corners
so
that
the
pasta
does
not
dry
out
during
baking.
The
layer
should
not
be
too
thick
but
should
cover
the
pasta
in
the
dish
well.
13.
Sprinkle
a
small
amount
of
the
mozzarella
pieces
and
the
grated
Parmigiano
over
the
meat
sauce
and
then
top
it
with
another
layer
of
the
pasta.
14.
Repeat
steps
12
and
13
until
you
have
used
at
least
4
layers
of
pasta.
15.
Over
the
last
layer
of
pasta,
spoon
a
small
amount
of
the
meat
sauce
over
the
top
of
the
pasta
to
create
a
thin
layer
over
the
top
of
the
pasta.
Top
the
lasagna
with
the
remaining
mozzarella
and
Parmigiano.
16.
Cover
the
baking
dish
with
aluminum
foil
and
place
the
dish
in
the
oven
on
the
bottom
rack
and
bake
for
25 -
30
minutes.
17.
After
25 -
30
minutes,
uncover
the
lasagna
and
bake
another
10
minutes
more
to
brown
the
cheese
on
top.
18.
When
the
lasagna
is
finished
cooking,
remove
it
from
the
oven
and
let
it
cool
for
approximately
10
minutes
before
serving.
Serve
with
extra
Parmigiano.
