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Melting Pot's Lasagna

Source of Recipe

Rocco Dispirito


List of Ingredients


1 pound uncooked lasagna noodles
2 pounds ricotta cheese
6 eggs
tomato sauce or Sunday Ragu
1 pound grated mozzarella
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese


Recipe

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Cook lasagna in boiling salted water until al dente. The pasta will cook further in the oven. In a small mixing bowl, stir together ricotta and eggs. In a 12 by 24-inch baking dish, spoon some sauce to just cover bottom surface of dish. Arrange lasagna to cover all sauce. Spread a thin layer of egg-ricotta mixture over the pasta, and finish layer with a sprinkling of mozzarella and Parmesan. Repeat process until all lasagna noodles have been used: there should be about 3 layers. Cover the top layer of lasagna with ragu and mozzarella. Cook for 1 hour. Serve hot. Yield: 8 servings


SUNDAY RAGU:

For the brasciola:
8 slices cappicola
8 slices Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 cloves minced garlic
2 tbs chopped fresh parsley

For the meatballs:
2 pounds ground beef
1 cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
salt to taste
fresh ground pepper
6 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Oil, for frying

For the sausage:
3 pounds hot or mild Italian sausage
Oil, for frying

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 onion, chopped
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (28-ounce) can pureed tomatoes

Make brasciola: start with slice of cappicola, lay a slice of Parmesan on the cappicola, and follow with garlic and parsley. Roll each pile into cigar-shaped rolls, and hold in place with toothpicks. In the bowl of an electric mixer, add ground beef, breadcrumbs, oregano, basil, garlic, salt, pepper, eggs, water and parmesan cheese and mix well. Form the meat mixture into 2-inch balls. Heat a large saute pan. Add enough oil to fry in. Add the balls and fry until evenly browned. In a large saute pan, add oil and heat. Fry the sausage until evenly browned.

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil. Add onion, and saute until golden. Add brasciola rolls, meatballs, sausage, pureed tomatoes and crushed tomatoes. Simmer uncovered for one hour. Remove brasciola, meatballs and sausage and serve separately if desired. Taste ragu, and season with salt and pepper according to preference. Yield: 8 servings