lasagna

I'm pretty sure Valentine's Day and Halloween were invented by the same person: a really smart 8-year old. They're really about getting as much candy as you possibly can and eating it without feeling guilty. The only difference is that Valentine's is pink and red, and you get chocolate and cookies, and Halloween is orange and black, and you get chocolate and other candy.

Anyway, this post has nothing to do with Valentine's Day except that when LKJ and her hubby and child came over on Sunday for a lazy dinner, we also decorated cookies, most of which we devoured on-site.

We had originally planned on going to Hill Country BBQ for ribs and pies but it was horrifically cold so I decided to make a last-minute lasagna with the bolognese I had made the other day. Ordinarily, I make a fresh-pasta lasagna with just basil ricotta, mozzarella, and a simple marinara sauce, but I saw 101 Cookbooks Thousand Layer Lasagna and was inspired to try hers - with just mozzarella, sauce, and paper-thin layers of fresh pasta. It was gorgeous, and very light... I served it with roasted parmesan broccoli. Next time, I'd do it with ricotta instead/in addition to some mozzarella, since ricotta is awesome. Also, I won't precook the pasta - I normally don't, and just increase the cooking time. Otherwise, what's the point of making your own pasta?!

The original is vegetarian - the meat sauce is just an option. Tip: whenever you're making something like lasagna, be sure to taste and season every component. In this case, it's just the sauce, but please do yourself a favor and season it well because you can't really do much about it after it comes out of the oven!

"Thousand Layer" Lasagna, adapted from 101 Cookbooks

Serves 4-6

sauce:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil/ half lb raw sausage meat, no casing
• 1 carrot, cut into small pieces
• 1 onion, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon of salt (less if using sausage)
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
• 1 28-ounce can tomatoes
• freshly ground pepper

to assemble:

• 1 pound fresh egg pasta sheets, this recipe will make more than enough
• 1 lb fresh mozzarella, sliced thin
• handful of freshly grated parmesan (optional)
• fresh basil (optional)

Sauce: Over medium heat, either cook the sausage, breaking it apart as you cook, or heat the onion. Add the onion, carrot and garlic with the salt. When translucent, about 5 minutes, add the crushed red pepper and oregano, stir for a minute, then add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Cook on a medium simmer for about 20 minutes. Carefully transfer to a food processor and blend. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

To assemble: Preheat the oven to 375.Fill a big pot full of water and bring to a boil with some salt. Line a 9x9" square baking dish with parchment and spray with cooking spray.

Thin out your pasta using a pasta machine. Start by cutting the big sheets into 2-inch(ish) wide ribbons. This means making 2 cuts along the sheets. This should yield you about 12 2-foot strips. Run them through the pasta machine. I go to the 8 setting, one shy of the very thinnest setting. The sheets should almost be translucent. Cut the strips into manageable rectangles roughly 4-inches in length.

Pre-cook the pasta: Fill a large bowl with cold water. Place a dish towel across one of your counters. Working with about 20 small rectangles at a time, throw them in the pot for about 20 seconds and pull them out with tongs or a slotted spoon. Put them in the cold water till cool, and dry on the towels. Repeat with the rest of the pasta.

Put a bit of the sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Cover the bottom with a layer of pasta sheets. Now a thin layer of sauce, and a bit of cheese. Repeat with pasta and sauce, putting cheese on every other layer. End with a layer of pasta and a nice sprinkling of cheese. Add parmesan on top if desired.


Bake until everything is melty and delicious, about 35-40 minutes. Let it set for about 10 minutes at room temp, and slice into 6 pieces which will really only feed 4 people.