Adriana's Italian Recipe for Lasagna with Three Cheeses and Italian Sausage

Lasagna with Three Cheeses and Italian Sausage
(Lasagna con Tre Formaggi e Salsiccia)


Ingredients:

For the Sauce:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup finely chopped peeled carrots
2 tablespoons minced garlic
8 ounces lean ground beef
6 ounces spicy Italian sausages, casings removed
One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes with added puree
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon golden brown sugar
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

For the Lasagna:
15 lasagna noodles (about 12 ounces)
Two 15-ounce containers part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmigiano cheese (about 3 ounces)
One 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, squeezed dry
2 large eggs
4 and 3/4 cups grated mozzarella cheese (about 1 and 1/4 lbs)

Directions:

Prepare the Sauce:
Heat the olive oil in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat.

Add onion, carrots and garlic; saute until softened, about 12 minutes. Add beef and sausages to pan; saute until cooked through, breaking up meat with a spoon, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients.

Cover and simmer until flavors blend and sauce measures about 5 cups, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.

Discard bay leaf. Let cool.

Prepare the Lasagna:
Preheat oven to 350° F.

Cook the pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until almost tender, about 7 minutes.

Drain; cover with cold water. Combine ricotta and 3/4 cup Parmigiano cheese in a medium bowl.

Mix in spinach. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Mix in eggs. Drain pasta and pat dry. Spread 1/2 cup sauce over bottom of 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish. Place 5 noodles over sauce, overlapping to fit. Spread half of ricotta-spinach mixture evenly over noodles. Sprinkle 2 cups mozzarella cheese evenly over ricotta-spinach mixture. Spoon 1 and 1/2 cups sauce over cheese, spreading with spatula to cover (sauce will be thick). Repeat layering with 5 noodles, remaining ricotta-spinach mixture, 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1 and 1/2 cups sauce. Arrange remaining 5 noodles over sauce.

Spread remaining sauce over noodles.

Sprinkle remaining 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmigiano cheese evenly over lasagna. (Can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate.) Cover baking dish with aluminum foil.

Bake lasagna for 40 minutes; uncover and bake until hot and bubbly, about 40 minutes.

Let lasagna stand 15 minutes before serving. Serves 8.

That's it!