Recipe | Three Cheese Sausage Lasagna

 

Three Cheese Sausage Lasagna

Adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients

For the sauce:

1  Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1  pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed

1  medium onion, chopped

1/2   teaspoon Kosher salt

1/4   freshly ground black pepper

2   garlic cloves, minced

1/2   teaspoon red pepper flakes

2  Tablespoons tomato paste

2   28 ounce cans crushed tomato sauce

2  teaspoons dried oregano

For the filling:

2  15 ounce part-skim ricotta cheese

2   teaspoons dried basil

1/2  cup grated Parmesan cheese

2  large egg yolks

1/2  teaspoon Kosher salt

1/4  freshly ground black pepper

For the assembly:

2   10 ounce packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed 

9  no-boil lasagna noodles

1  pound grated mozzarella cheese

Method:

 In a large pot over medium-high heat olive oil.  Add sausage, onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  

Break up sausage with wooden spoon, until browned and cooked through.  

Reduce heat to medium and add garlic, red pepper flakes and tomato paste; cook stirring often until fragrant---1-2 minutes.

Add crushed tomatoes and simmer for 15 minutes.

In a large bowl combine filling ingredients.

Assemble the Lasagna:

Squeeze thawed spinach until very dry.

Grease 13 x 9 baking dish with softened butter.

Add 2 cups sauce to bottom of pan and spread evenly.

Top with a layer of 3 noodles.

Cover noodles with 1/3 of ricotta mixture, and  1/3 of spinach.

Sprinkle with mozzarella.

Repeat two more times---skipping mozzarella on third layer.

Top lasagna noodles with tomato sauce, then mozzarella. 

Place pan on a cookie sheet and cover with foil.

Bake for 45 minutes.

Remove foil, and continue baking until lightly browned and bubbly, about 20 minutes more.

Let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.