Lasagna with Homemade Italian Sausage and Ricotta

Lasagna with homemade Italian Sausage and Ricotta

Who doesn’t love lasagna, and everyone has their very own favorite recipe, myself included!

This is a dish that says everything about homey comfort food. With the irresistible aromas of roasting tomatoes, fennel scented Italian Sausage,and the sweet richness of melting ricotta wafting through the air and a bubbling labor of love whisked from the oven onto the table, says it all!

There are several preparations involved that require some investment of time in the kitchen, but why not make the most of it, pleasing your family and friends, and having the pleasure of knowing all your efforts have been duly rewarded.

Lasagna with homemade Italian Sausage and Homemade Ricotta      Serves 4-6

Prepare ahead:

Italian Red Sauce (see here)

Homemade Italian Sausage (see here)

Homemade Ricotta (see here)

lasagna pasta, precooked al dente

The recipe:   Preheat the oven to 350F/180C

• 12 oz lasagna pasta, precooked al dente
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 14 oz homemade Italian sausage
• 5-6 cups Italian red sauce
• ½ cup red wine
• 8oz homemade ricotta
• 1 cup Pecorino Romano
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves

Boil the lasagna pasta in well salted water until al dente. Carefully remove the sheets of cooked pasta from the water and set them out on a kitchen towel to drain. Top with a slightly damp second towel and set aside until you are ready to assemble the lasagna.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. When the oil is hot, add the Italian sausage and saute for 5 minutes or until the sausage is lightly colored. Add the red wine and continue to saute until the wine has nearly evaporated.

Add the red sauce to the skillet and stir until the sauce comes back to a low simmer. Remove from the heat and set aside until you are ready to assemble the lasagna.

Assembling the lasagna:

Ladle a thin layer of sauce into a sizable oven proof casserole or glass baking dish. Lay lasagna pasta in a single layer to cover the bottom of the dish. Ladle a generous amount of sauce over the pasta and spoon evenly spaced dollops of ricotta over the surface of the sauce.

Add another layer of lasagna pasta, again adding a generous amount of sauce over the pasta, and spooning dollops of ricotta over the sauce.

Continue until you have 4 or 5 layers of the pasta, depending on the size of the dish. Be sure there is a generous amount of sauce on the top layer as well as generous dollops of ricotta. Sprinkle the grated Pecorino Romano evenly over the surface. Scatter the oregano leaves over all and pop the lasagna into the preheated oven and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling up around the sides of the baking dish.

Set aside to cool for several minutes.

Serve with a simple salad of your choice dressed with olive oil, red wine vinegar, flaked sea salt, and freshly ground pepper.