Lasagna with Meatballs and Sugo
I hope you’ve saved some meatballs and sugo (page 146) for this wonderful fresh-pasta lasagna. But if you haven’t, you can follow the basic procedure using sliced, cooked Italian sausage meat instead of the meatballs and another tomato sauce. Note that you’ll need a bit more than a single batch of egg pasta dough—4 extra ounces to be specific—so just make two batches and freeze the extra.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 8 or more
Ingredients
Recommended Equipment
Preparation
Getting Ready
Step 1
Roll the 20 ounces of pasta dough into thin wide sheets and briefly cook them, following the procedures on page 205.
Step 2
Slice the meatballs into rounds about 1/3 inch thick.
Step 3
Warm the sugo or tomato sauce if necessary, to spreadable consistency.
Step 4
Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 375°.
Step 5
Lightly butter the baking dish.
Assembling the Lasagna
Step 6
Coat the bottom of the baking dish with 1/3 cup sauce.
Step 7
Drape pasta sheets the length of the pan so that they cover the bottom of the dish completely and extend over the short sides of the pan by 6 inches or so. Spread 1/3 cup sauce over the pasta in the bottom of the pan.
Step 8
Drape pasta sheets perpendicular to the first, across the width of the pan, with the ends of the sheets extending over the long sides of the pan by 6 inches or so. Over this pasta, spread 1/3 cup sauce and half the ricotta (1 cup), and sprinkle over it 1/3 cup of grated cheese and 1 cup of shredded cheese.
Step 9
Lay down pasta to cover just the inside of the pan, cutting sheets to fit. Spread 2/3 cup of sauce over, and arrange the meatball slices side by side on top. Sprinkle on 1/3 cup grated cheese, and spread 1/3 cup sauce over that.
Step 10
Lay down another layer of pasta to cover the fillings, cutting sheets to fit. Spread 2/3 cup of sauce over the pasta and the rest of the ricotta over the sauce.
Step 11
Lay down another layer of pasta to cover the fillings, spread 1/3 cup sauce over the pasta, and scatter 3/4 cup of shredded cheese on top.
Step 12
Lay down another layer of pasta to cover, and spread 1/3 cup sauce over it.
Step 13
Fold the overhanging flaps of pasta onto the top of the lasagna. If they don’t meet and cover the surface, cut a piece of pasta to fit, or use all the remaining pasta here.
Step 14
Spread the remaining 1/3 cup sauce, and sprinkle on the remaining 3/4 cup of shredded cheese and the last 1/3 cup of grated cheese.
Tenting the Dish and Baking
Step 15
Use a long sheet of foil to form a tent over the pan, as described in the Pasticciata Bolognese recipe (page 200). Make sure the foil doesn’t touch the lasagna, and poke five or six small holes in the foil to vent steam.
Step 16
Set the pan on a baking sheet, put it in the oven, and bake for about 40 minutes, or until bubbling juices indicates that it’s cooking all the way through. Remove the foil without touching the top of the lasagna. Bake uncovered for another 20 minutes or so, until the top is deeply colored and crisp.
Step 17
Let the lasagna sit uncovered for 20 minutes to settle before cutting it in squares and serving.
Tomorrow’s Treat: Ribbon Lasagna
Step 18
Often when you’re layering a lasagna or pasticciata you’ll find yourself not using up a final strip or two of pasta. Don’t throw it away. Freeze it, and pull it out one day when you have a few leftovers in your refrigerator, such as a small amount of meaty sauce, stewed or braised meat with a little gravy, maybe a couple of meatballs, or perhaps some seafood, as well as a little tomato sauce (which I trust by now you’ll always have on hand). All you need is a small baking dish (3 1/2 to 4 inches in diameter), which you’ll fill with your ribbon of lasagna and sauce in your own special way.
Step 19
So pop that strip of pasta into a pot of boiling water, fish it out after a minute, shock it in ice water, and drain. Following the illustrations, lay one end flat in the small, shallow, buttered baking dish. Spread a couple of tablespoons of whatever saucy, meaty leftover you’re using, then fold and pull back the strip of dough over it to make a second layer; top that with a couple of tablespoons of tomato sauce and a few thin slices of a melty cheese to cover, fold again and make another layer of meaty sauce, then finish with a generous sprinkling of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano. What you have made is an accordion-pleated mound of pasta ribbon, each layer generously cushioned with meaty filling and sauce and cheese. Now just bake it at 375° for 25 minutes, and when it comes out bubbly and melded together, you’ll have yourself a rare treat.
Step 20
Of course, you can multiply these ingredients and make as many individual ribbon lasagnas as you have hungry mouths to feed.
