Ol' Family Lasagna Recipe
Posted Sunday, July 21, 2013 12:22 PM

 

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FANIZZO/MACKEY EXCELLENT LASAGNA

 

The Meatballs (Hint: Also excellent as meatloaf or hamburgers)

1½ lbs ground beef
2 eggs or ¼ C egg beaters
½ C chopped onions
¼ C chopped fresh parsley
½ t salt (optional)		 ½ t pepper
½ C (or so) breadcrumbs
1 t fennel
Oregano
2 T olive oil

 

 

 

 

 

Mix all ingredients except oregano and olive oil and form into balls. Brown sausage and meatballs in olive oil in frying pan; sprinkle both sides heavily with oregano while browning. Remove and set aside in bowl.


The Sauce
 
2-28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes
1 can water
4-6" piece hot Italian sausage or
    pinch of red pepper
1 t salt (optional)		 ½ C chopped fresh parsley
1 large bay leaf
1 t fennel
1 t black pepper
½ t basil

 

 

 

 

Place all ingredients in a 6 qt sauce pan. Add about 1½ cup of water to browning pan and scrape bottom as water boils. Place the scrapings into sauce pan.  Stir to mix everything together, bring to a boil, turn down to simmer for about 2-2½ hours. Add water if it thickens too quickly. 

Next add meatballs and sausage to sauce. Add about ½ cup of water to bowl, scrape, and add to sauce. Simmer at least ½ hour more. (Add water if it thickens too quickly.) Continue to simmer until desired consistency or that of a cheese sauce.

Recipe makes enough sauce for 2 pounds of macaroni or 1 pound of lasagna.

 

The Lasagna

1 lb. lasagna
½ l lb. ricotta
2 eggs or ½ C egg beater
½ C chopped parsley
¼ t freshly ground pepper
½ t salt (optional)		 1 lb. sliced mozzarella
Hunk of fresh Romano cheese to
    grate
½ lb. sliced mushrooms
Excellent Meatballs (Recipe above)
Excellent Sauce (Recipe above)


 

 

 

 

 

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Take 3 meatballs and the piece of sausage and put aside for snacking. Mash the rest of the meatballs in a bowl with a fork. Add mashed meatballs and sliced mushrooms to sauce; heat thoroughly. Take care that the mixture does not become too thick. Add water if it does.  

Fill 10-12 qt. pan about 2/3 with hot water, add 1 T olive oil to prevent pasta from sticking, and bring to rolling boil over high heat. Add lasagna and stir until water is again boiling.

Stir every so often or stir continuously to keep pasta moving in pan. Remove when cooked al dente, drain in colander, and shake lightly to help drain water. Do NOT rinse; in fact, NEVER rinse any kind of pasta!

Mix eggs with a fork. To ricotta add eggs or egg beater, parsley, salt if desired, and pepper; mix well with fork or wire whisk. Separate ricotta mixture into 3 piles. (Note: This can done earlier in the day and refrigerated until you are ready to assemble the lasagana.)

Separate 1 lb. of sliced mozzarella into 3 piles.

Lightly grease pan with olive oil. Cover pan with thin layer of meat-mushroom sauce.

Layer 3 times in this order:

1. Pasta
2. Ricotta mixture
3. Sliced mozzarella
4. Meat-mushroom sauce

The final layer of sauce should completely cover everything. (NOTE: Judging how much sauce to use per layer is difficult. I always skimp on the bottom layers to be sure I’ll have enough to cover the top.)

Generously grate fresh Romano cheese over final sauce layer. (Do NOT cover as is shown in the video on our Home Page.)

Place in pre-heated oven and cook for approximately 45 minutes. Check during the final 15 minutes to keep from becoming too dry.

I suppose you should let the cooked lasagna stand for about 10 minutes before eating; but if your family is like mine, you can skip this step. 

 

Yes, this is a lot of work; but it's worth it. However, I only make it once a year now--usually for Christmas Eve.