This is the way I made my five cheese hot Italian sausage lasagna yesterday. It was delicious, but that is by no means a guarantee that this is how I will make my lasagna the next time I get a hankering. Still, this is a fantastic version, and I am happy to share it with you. I hope you will find it as flavorful and delicious as we did.
1 ½cupsfreshly grated mozzarella cheese(from a soft block)
½cupeach freshly and finely grated Parmesan(or Grana) and Asiago cheese
Instructions
For the Meat Sauce
Heat a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat.
Add the oil and let it get hot.
Add the sausage and break it up well with a wooden spoon or some other fun kitchen implement. You don't want any big chunks of sausage, so be thorough.
When the sausage is starting to brown, add the onions, garlic, mushrooms, and red bell pepper along with some kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, Italian seasoning pepper flakes.
Cook over medium to medium-high heat until the vegetables release all their liquid and are starting to turn golden.
Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half. (Non-alcoholic: add the red wine vinegar and let it cook until dry. Then add the stock and reduce by half)
Add the 2 cans of still-kind-of-chunky-but-blended tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar.
Taste and adjust seasoning, but hold back a bit since the sauce will be reduced and the saltiness will eventually get concentrated.
Simmer uncovered over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is very thick, about 2 1/2-3 hours.
Taste and add the sugar if you think the flavor is a bit muddy. Adjust the salt last if necessary.
For the Ricotta Mixture
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir until thoroughly combined.
To Assemble
Preheat oven to 375F.
Slice the ball of mozzarella into thin rounds. Try to get about 12 of them. Set aside.
In a 9"x13" glass baking dish (or similar), add about 1 1/2 cups of the meat sauce and spread evenly. Top with 5 uncooked lasagna noodles. (**See Note below) I can get four across, overlapping slightly. Then I break one to fit perpendicular to the rest at the end of the pan.
Add another cup or so of the sauce and spread evenly. (***See Note below)
Place slices of the fresh mozzarella evenly over the sauce.
Top with another layer of noodles. Put the perpendicular slice on the opposite end of the pan from the first layer of noodles. Alternating like this will make the lasagna easier to slice and more likely to hold together later.
Press down a bit on this layer of noodles just to make sure everything is compacted a bit. (This is another advantage of not boiling the noodles first. It gives you something to press down on!)
Add another cup or so of the meat sauce and spread it out in a thin layer.
Top evenly with the ricotta layer and spread it out to the edges of the noodles.
Top with another layer of noodles (this is layer 3 of noodles). Press down to compact a bit.
Add half of the remaining sauce and then top with layer number 4 of noodles.
Spread the last of the meat sauce over these noodles and then top with the grated mozzarella, Parm (or Grana) and Asiago.
Cover tightly with a sheet of non-stick foil and press the whole shebang down just a bit. For food safety, place a cut-to-fit piece of parchment on top of the cheese before covering with foil. If you have a lidded lasagna pan, use the lid.
Place the covered lasagna on a sheet tray to catch any drips and bake for an hour.
Remove the foil and reduce the heat to 350 (for a softer top) or keep it at 375F for a crunchier top. Bake for an additional 20 minutes.
The lasagna should be bubbling all over. It may have spilled over some onto your sheet pan. Be glad you were smart enough to use one and know that I didn't think of it until there was already lasagna liquid on the floor of my oven.
Remove lasagna from the oven and let cool for at least 30-45 minutes or so before slicing and serving.
To get the cleanest cuts. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate overnight. Reheat before slicing. If you do this, add another thin layer of mozzarella, Parm/Grana and Asiago to the top so you will still get to experience some gooey cheese.
Enjoy!
Notes
**I never boil my lasagna noodles before assembling lasagna. No, I don't buy the no-boil kind. I just use regular lasagna noodles. I find that they cook in the oven just fine and even soak up some of the excess liquid that can make lasagna be a pain to slice and serve. If you don't boil yours, follow the directions for baking in the recipe. If you decide to pre-boil your noodles, figure it will only take about 30-40 minutes of baking.***I used every drop of sauce in making the lasagna, so don't think you can save some out for a snack later.