Lasagna Mania!

So many tasty layers!

Hello, hello! I am happy to report that I'm proud of myself.  I finally accomplished a daunting culinary feat that I have wanted to try for a while.  I made pasta from scratch! Luckily it was surprisingly easy, just a bit time consuming.  And of course I used them in the most delicious way I know how: in LASAGNA! It took me a long time to complete the finished product, but goodness gracious was it worth it!

The way I came up with this recipe was by combining several different recipes, to make one cohesive dish. It is quite a large recipe (serves 24) so feel free to cut it in half or in quarters.

To make the noodles I did close to what this man did:  And I have to say it felt really neat being taught by an  Italian chef, plus he's completely adorable!  HINT: I recommend making the lasagna in this order:  sauce, cheese, then noodles.

 LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twG7PCPDPEE 

For The Pasta:

5 cups flour
2 tbsp olive oil
6 to 8 eggs
2 tsp salt
*Extra flour if needed

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Thoroughly knead dough together.  Roll it out by hand or with a pasta roller. For extra help watch and follow the video above. Boil rolled out and cut lasagna dough for 30 seconds to 1 minute, transfer to a cold water bath until ready for use. 

For The Bolognese Style Sauce:

1 large onion, diced
8 cloves of garlic, finely minced
2 carrots, peeled and thinly chopped
2 stalks of celery, thinly chopped
Salt and pepper
6 tbsp butter

2 pounds ground meat, turkey thigh works well

1 cup dry white wine

2 cups whole milk
Salt and Pepper throughout 

56 ounces (or about 4 pounds) crushed tomatoes, or excellent quality pasta sauce (you cheater!), or a mixture of the pasta sauce and crushed fresh tomatoes.

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Step 1: Cook prepared vegetables, seasonings, and butter for about 6 minutes, or until slightly soft.

Step 2: Cook ground meat in with the slightly cooked veggies, until almost all of the raw coloring is out.

Step 3: Pour in wine and let simmer until all the alcohol scent is evaporated out, test this by smelling it, about 7 minutes.

Step 4: Slowly incorporate in the milk while stirring, the mixture should be lightly boiling.  

Step 5: Add salt and pepper to taste throughout the cooking process. Add tomatoes and let simmer for about 5 minutes, or until completely cooked.
  
 *Add rux (equal parts oil & flour combined) into bubbling sauce if too thin. Add water if too thick.

For The Cheese Layers:

8 oz GOOD QUALITY Parmesan cheese(not the powdery stuff),grate 
8 oz fresh mozzarella, broken up 
16 oz full fat ricotta
4 oz cheddar, grated
Plus 2 oz cheddar, sprinkled on top
4 eggs
1/4 cup parsley, minced 

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Grate Parmesan and Cheddar, break up Mozzarella into little bits, and stir in Ricotta, eggs and prepared parsley. Keep mixture cold until ready for use. 


For The Lasagna:

To Assemble and bake:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Over the bottom of a deep baking dish(or two), smear a layer of sauce. Top with a layer of pasta. Spread a layer of the cheese mixture, then a layer of sauce, then a layer of noodles going the opposite direction as the first layer of noodles. 

For example: ll = ll = ll = ll

Spread a sauce layer, then a pasta layer. Continue this pattern until you are almost at the top of the baking dish, lastly finish with a cheese and sauce layer, topped with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese to finish.  
  
Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes.

Serves 24

Bon Appetit!