Buddy Valastro's Grandma Maddalena's Sausage Lasagna

Total Time: 3 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 3 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 lb ground beef
• 1/2 lb ground veal
• 1/2 lb ground lamb
• 1 lb hot italian sausage, casing removed
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 (28 ounce) can italian whole canned tomatoes or 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, finely chopped, juices reserved
• 2 (28 ounce) cans tomato puree
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 3 lbs fresh ricotta
• 1/4 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped basil
• 1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup set aside
• 1 1/2 lbs fresh mozzarella cheese, shredded, 1/2 cup set aside
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 lb lasagna noodle

Recipe

• 1 sauce:.
• 2 in a large heavy bottomed pot, heat the olive oil, add the beef, lamb, veal and sausage (without casing) and cook until browned.
• 3 add garlic and oregano and cook until fragrant.
• 4 stir in the tomato paste and cook until the meat is coated.
• 5 add tomatoes with their juices and the tomato puree, season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
• 6 simmer over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened about 1 1/2 hours.
• 7 ricotta:.
• 8 in large bowl, combine the ricotta with the parsley, basil, 1 cup of the parmesan, 1 pound of the shredded mozzarella and beaten eggs. season with salt and pepper.
• 9 noodles:.
• 10 the instructions suggested cooking the dry, curly-ridged lasagna noodles 3 minutes in abundant salted water, drained, rinsed -- i say use fresh, no-cook or even the curly edged pasta, and forget about the pre-cooking. i guarantee the sauce will cook the noodles after 45 minutes of cooking time. this also makes life much easier.
• 11 lasagna time:.
• 12 preheat the oven to 375°f spread 1.5 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. line the dish with overlapping noodles.
• 13 spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the noodles, sprinkle with a little parmesan and shredded mozzarella then top with 1 1/2 cups of the sauce and another layer of noodles.
• 14 repeat the layering 2 more times. top with noodles and cover with 1 1/2 cups of sauce (may want to use extra if using uncooked noodles to ensure the noodles are covered and cook evenly. sprinkle remaining mozzarella and parmesan over the lasagna.
• 15 cover lasagna with foil and bake for about 20 minutes.
• 16 uncover then cook for 30-45 minutes more or until the top is golden and crisp around the edges and the filling is bubbling.
• 17 let the lasagna rest for 20 minutes before serving.