Sorry for the length... Here goes copy and paste.
Bob’s Lasagna Recipe
Time for true confessions… I’ve tried dozens of times to “shrink” the recipe and failed miserably. I’m convinced it’s psychological as basic math should work… You’ll need a couple of large deep pans. I’ll often get a throw away aluminum lasagna pan or two. This is the first time I’ve written this recipe down…. I generally just do it. When you’re building it, you don’t have to put everything in every layer. For example, when I use spinach I’ll generally only put it in the bottom layer.
Ingredients: Sorry I didn’t combine them for an easy shopping list.
Grated Cheese Mixture
2lbs Mozzarella
1lbs Provolone
1lbs Jack
1/2lbs Parmesan
1/2lbs Romano
1/2lbs Asiago
1/2lbs white cheddar
1 Cup finely chopped Parsley
2Tbs dried basil
1Tbs Italian seasoning
Ricotta Cheese Mixture
2lbs Ricotta
4 eggs
2 cups grated cheese mixture (from above)
1 cup parsley
2Tbs dried basil
1Tbs Black Pepper
Sausage
2lbs ground beef
1lbs ground pork
1lbs hot Italian sausage
1 onion, finely diced
1 cup celery finely diced
½ cup green pepper finely diced
5-6 cloves of garlic, smashed and minced
¼ cup anise or fennel, toasted then ground
2Tbs oregano
1Tbs Italian seasoning
1Tbs Basil
Salt, Pepper, & red pepper flake
Sauce
¼ cup of fat from sausage
1 onion, finely diced
1 cup celery finely diced
½ cup green pepper finely diced
5-6 cloves of garlic, smashed and minced
2Tbs oregano
1Tbs Italian seasoning
1Tbs Basil
Salt, Pepper, & red pepper flake
6 oz tomato paste
2 8 oz cans of tomato sauce
1 Cup of pasta water
1Cup Red Wine (Optional)
Vegetables
1 onion
1lbs Mushrooms sliced
1 sweet pepper (any color) sliced or diced
3 cloves of garlic minced
Baby Spinach (optional)
Noodles
I normally get three or four boxes of noodles, unless I make my own. Barilla makes a decent, no boil noodle, but I prefer those that are boiled first.
Here’s a good recipe for home made. You’ll want a couple 3 pounds
http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2015/02/homemade-pasta-recipe.html
Other
8 oz Peperoni
1 cup Flat Leaf Parsley (garnish)
2Tbs Italian seasoning (garnish)
8 oz Parmesan (garnish)
Method:
Fresh Cheese Mix:
Grate all the cheese roughly the same size (or buy it already grated) Mix all ingredients well in a large bowl
Sausage Mixture:
Put a couple rings of olive oil in the pan (leave it off), Dice the veg and add it to the pan, sprinkle with a little Salt and turn on the fire medium/medium low. Cook until soft and opaque. Add the meat & seasonings, and break it into a fine crumble. Cook until browned and done through. Adjust the seasoning to your tastes. Drain off fat (remember you’ll need a ¼ cup for the next step)
Noodles:
Bring a large pot of water with a couple glugs of olive oil to a boil, salt the water (you want it to taste like a stock) and cook your pasta almost to al dente but with a little bite left. If fresh about 3-31/2 minutes, if store bought 6-7 minutes. Put it on a well-greased rack to cool. Save a cup of the water to add to the sauce.
Sauce:
Add the oil from the sausage and the veg sprinkle with a little salt. Turn on the fire to medium and sauté. When the veg is about half way there, add the spices. Stir in the tomato paste and cook until it becomes fragrant. You can add a little wine now if you like and cook it down to ½ of what you put in. Add the sauce and about a can of water and let simmer for about a half hour. Blend into a puree and put on a low heat and add the pasta water (you’re making a pizza sauce here). Adjust seasonings to taste.
Veg:
You’ll want a medium dice on the onions and peppers, sliced mushrooms, and crushed/minced Garlic. Put a couple rings of olive oil in the pan add the onions, and turn the pan on medium low. Lightly salt the onions and sauté until tender. Remove them from the pan add the garlic, sauté for until it becomes fragrant and add the mushrooms. Sauté until tender and remove from pan. I like to keep everything separate but not necessary. Add the pepper and sauté until tender and remove. If adding spinach wilt it gently in the grease and drain. The reason I keep everything separate is that I make the Lasagna like a pizza and will adjust ¼ s based on what people don’t like. If you’re going to put different things in different places save back some so you can mark the top.
Ricotta Mixture:
Wisk your eggs until well blended, Stir in the ricotta, parsley and spices, then add the mixed cheese. At some point you’ll give up on the spoon and use your hands to get everything mixed well.
Now the fun begins:
Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees. Spray your pain with oil. Enter a layer of noodles (try not to overlap), spread ricotta mixture, then add sausage, veg, a little sauce and cheese mixture, noodles and do it again. When you get to the top, leave yourself about an inch for the final layer. Noodles, Sauce, cheese mixture, pepperoni, (Mark the top if you need to) sprinkle with Parmesan and other garnishes (top layer should look like a well decorated pizza). Put it in the oven on the center rack on a cookie sheet to catch any over flow for 25-35 minutes. It’s done when you’ve got a nicely browned cheese on top. Looks like a pizza
