Sausage Lasagna
By Cecelia JenkinsPublished on December 20, 2020
Time
2¾ hours, plus 45 minutes cooling
Yield
Serves 8 to 10
Ingredients
Sauce
1 (1-pound) fennel bulb, stalks discarded, bulb halved, cored, and chopped coarse1 onion, chopped coarse3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage 4 garlic cloves, peeled1 tablespoon fennel seeds ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 2 pounds Italian sausage, casings removed1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauceLasagna
17 curly-edged lasagna noodles Table salt for cooking pastaVegetable cooking spray 1 pound whole-milk mozzarella cheese, shredded (4 cups)8 ounces provolone cheese, shredded (2 cups)4 ounces Pecorino Romano cheese, ground fine in food processor (3⁄4 cup)1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano 1 pound (2 cups) whole-milk cottage cheeseBefore You Begin
You can use either sweet or hot Italian sausage here. A 1-pound box of dry lasagna noodles should yield enough for this lasagna, but sometimes it’s best to buy two boxes in case some of the noodles are broken. Note that the Pecorino Romano is ground in the food processor (it can also be purchased preground). Attach the shredding disk of your food processor to make quick work of shred- ding the mozzarella and provolone, or use the large holes of a box grater.
Instructions
- Combine fennel, onion, sage, garlic, fennel seeds, and pepper flakes in food processor and pulse until finely chopped, about 10 pulses; set aside. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add sausage and cook, breaking up meat with potato masher, until sausage begins to sizzle in its own fat, about 15 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium and add fennel mixture. Cook until vegetables are softened and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Set aside off heat. Reserve 2 cups sauce for topping.
- Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add noodles and 1 tablespoon salt and cook until just shy of al dente, about 7 minutes. Drain noodles and transfer to rimmed baking sheet. Spray noodles lightly with oil spray; toss gently to coat (to prevent them from sticking to each other). Cut 2 noodles in half crosswise.
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 13 by 9-inch baking dish with oil spray. Combine mozzarella, provolone, Pecorino, and oregano in bowl. Reserve 2 cups mozzarella mixture for topping.
- Lay 3 noodles lengthwise in prepared dish with ends touching short side of dish, leaving gap at far end. Lay 1 half noodle crosswise to fill gap. Spread 1½ cups meat sauce over noodles; dollop ½ cup cottage cheese over sauce. Use back of spoon to spread cottage cheese evenly over sauce. Sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella mixture.
- Repeat layering of noodles, meat sauce, cottage cheese, and mozzarella mixture 3 more times, switching position of half noodle to opposite end of dish each time.
- Lay remaining 3 noodles over top (there is no half noodle for top layer). Spread reserved 2 cups sauce over noodles, then sprinkle with reserved 2 cups mozzarella mixture.
- Spray sheet of aluminum foil with oil spray and cover lasagna. Set lasagna on foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes. Discard foil covering lasagna and continue to bake until top layer of lasagna is spotty brown and lasagna is hot throughout, about 30 minutes longer. Let lasagna cool for 45 minutes. Slice and serve.TO MAKE AHEAD: At end of step 7, cover dish with greased aluminum foil and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. To serve, bake lasagna as directed in step 8, increasing covered baking time to 55 minutes.
for the sauce
for the lasagna
Time
2¾ hours, plus 45 minutes coolingYield
Serves 8 to 10Ingredients
Sauce
Lasagna
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Sauce
Lasagna
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Sauce
Lasagna
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
We wanted an extra-cheesy sausage lasagna that was full of all the flavors of Italian sausage and that held up structurally when served (rather than slipping into a flat mess on the plate like so many others). To make quick work of breaking down the aromatic base of our sausage and tomato sauce, we pulsed fennel, onion, sage, garlic, fennel seeds, and pepper flakes in the food processor, which easily cut the ingredients into small pieces that would soften in the sauce. Next, we boiled our lasagna noodles, slightly undercooking them so that they didn’t turn mushy when they were baked. Then, we puzzled out a precise layering technique to ensure a structurally sound lasagna. By cutting two of the boiled noodles in half, we were able to provide full coverage in the dish for the lower layers of the lasagna (most noodles aren’t quite as long as the baking dish). For the cheesy element, we turned to a combo of creamy mozzarella, flavorful provolone, and supersavory Pecorino Romano. Finally, at the risk of insulting home cooks who have been making their families’ long-established lasagna recipes, we found that we preferred cottage cheese to the traditional ricotta for the creamy element in this lasagna. Ricotta can become gritty, dry, and pasty when baked, while cottage cheese contains more moisture and is more apt to stay pillowy-soft and creamy.
Before You Begin
You can use either sweet or hot Italian sausage here. A 1-pound box of dry lasagna noodles should yield enough for this lasagna, but sometimes it’s best to buy two boxes in case some of the noodles are broken. Note that the Pecorino Romano is ground in the food processor (it can also be purchased preground). Attach the shredding disk of your food processor to make quick work of shred- ding the mozzarella and provolone, or use the large holes of a box grater.
Instructions
- Combine fennel, onion, sage, garlic, fennel seeds, and pepper flakes in food processor and pulse until finely chopped, about 10 pulses; set aside. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add sausage and cook, breaking up meat with potato masher, until sausage begins to sizzle in its own fat, about 15 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium and add fennel mixture. Cook until vegetables are softened and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Set aside off heat. Reserve 2 cups sauce for topping.
- Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add noodles and 1 tablespoon salt and cook until just shy of al dente, about 7 minutes. Drain noodles and transfer to rimmed baking sheet. Spray noodles lightly with oil spray; toss gently to coat (to prevent them from sticking to each other). Cut 2 noodles in half crosswise.
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 13 by 9-inch baking dish with oil spray. Combine mozzarella, provolone, Pecorino, and oregano in bowl. Reserve 2 cups mozzarella mixture for topping.
- Lay 3 noodles lengthwise in prepared dish with ends touching short side of dish, leaving gap at far end. Lay 1 half noodle crosswise to fill gap. Spread 1½ cups meat sauce over noodles; dollop ½ cup cottage cheese over sauce. Use back of spoon to spread cottage cheese evenly over sauce. Sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella mixture.
- Repeat layering of noodles, meat sauce, cottage cheese, and mozzarella mixture 3 more times, switching position of half noodle to opposite end of dish each time.
- Lay remaining 3 noodles over top (there is no half noodle for top layer). Spread reserved 2 cups sauce over noodles, then sprinkle with reserved 2 cups mozzarella mixture.
- Spray sheet of aluminum foil with oil spray and cover lasagna. Set lasagna on foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes. Discard foil covering lasagna and continue to bake until top layer of lasagna is spotty brown and lasagna is hot throughout, about 30 minutes longer. Let lasagna cool for 45 minutes. Slice and serve.TO MAKE AHEAD: At end of step 7, cover dish with greased aluminum foil and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. To serve, bake lasagna as directed in step 8, increasing covered baking time to 55 minutes.
for the sauce
for the lasagna
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