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Old World Style Lasagna

A homemade lasagna made from scratch. This dish is a labor of love and takes all day, but is worth it.

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16 people Yepped this recipe

servings: 6

total time: 6 hours

added on 10/23/2018

recipe by: Rae

INGREDIENTS

ITALIAN SAUSAGE:
1 pound pork loin chops with fat, diced into 1 inch cubes
2 medium garlic cloves, chopped
1 TBSP red wine vinegar
1 TBSP freshly chopped basil
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp granulated onion
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp dried thyme
TOMATO SAUCE:
14-ounce can diced tomatoes
28-ounce can whole tomatoes, squished between fingers
4 TBSP tomato paste
2 medium garlic cloves, chipped
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
1 TBSP olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 black pepper
1 TBSP freshly chopped basil
CHEESE MIXTURE:
15 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp granulated garlic
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg
PASTA NOODLES:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1/8 tsp salt

CONVERSION CALCULATOR

DIRECTIONS

ITALIAN SAUSAGE:
Put your meat grinder attachments in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Mix all the Italian Sausage ingredients together in a metal bowl and place in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Grind all the pork and spices together in your meat grinder.
Mix gently with your hands and store in fridge for at least 4 hours.
TOMATO SAUCE:
Put all the Tomato Sauce ingredients except the basil in a medium-size saucepan over low heat and simmer, stirring often, for 1 hour.
Stir the basil into the sauce then turn off the heat and set aside.
CHEESE MIXTURE:
Mix all the Cheese Mixture ingredients in a bowl then cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
PASTA AND NOODLES:
Combine the flour, eggs, yolks, and salt in your mixer with a dough hook then mix on low speed adding a tablespoon of water at a time until the dough forms a ball.
Once a ball has formed mix on low speed for 4 minutes.
Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for a few minutes more.
Cover the dough and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
Cut the dough into 6 portions then roll your dough to 1/8 inch thickness.
Cut the noodles to the length of a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Boil a large pot of water then blanch the pasta sheets in the boiling water for 30 seconds.
Drain the pasta and place immediately in an ice water bath then remove the pasta from the ice water after a minute or two and lay flat on towels.
LASAGNA ASSEMBLY:
Brown the sausage in a large saute pan.
Stir the tomato sauce in with the sausage then taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Pour about 1/5 of your sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish then cover with lasagna noodles in a single layer.
Spread another 1/5 of sauce over the top of the noodles.
Make 3 rows of 4 dollops (about 2 TBSP in size) of cheese mixture over the sauce, using about 1/2 of the cheese mixture.
Cover with another layer of lasagna noodles and press the cheese sightly and repeat the process.
Cover with a final layer of noodles and then top with the rest of the sauce.
Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until lasagna is heated through.
Allow to cool for 20 minutes then cut and serve.