PDA

View Full Version : Pepperoni Lasagna


reveal
08-09-2007, 12:49 PM
Heart-clogging goodness! I'm having leftovers for lunch today. :D

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_35877,00.html

Blazy's Pepperoni Studded Lasagna

2 pounds lasagna sheets
2 cups hand cut 1/8-inch slices pepperoni
4 cups tomato sauce, recipe follows
1 pound ricotta
16 ounces shredded mozzarella
2 pounds bulk Italian sausage, cooked
3/4 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Boil 6 quarts of water, add pinch of salt, and cook pasta to almost done. Remove from water and shock in ice bath.

In medium saucepan add pepperoni and saute over medium heat until crispy. Remove from heat and drain on a paper towel.

In a 10-by-14-by-3-inch baking pan or dish, pour 1 cup of tomato sauce in bottom and around sides. Layer lasagna sheets on the bottom of the pan, overlapping by 1/2-inch. Add 1/3 amount of ricotta, 1/3 amount of mozzarella, 1/3 amount of sausage, then sprinkle generously with the Parmesan, add 1/2 cup tomato sauce, and 1/4 cup of pepperoni. Repeat this 2 more times.

On the very top sheet, top with remaining ricotta, tomato sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, and dust with Parmesan. Bake for approximately 45 minutes. Remove from oven; let sit for 15 minutes. Cut and serve immediately.

Tomato Sauce:
3 ounces extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, minced
5 medium-sized garlic cloves, crushed
6 cups skinned and diced Roma tomatoes
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil. Add onion and cook over medium to low heat until transparent. Add garlic and cook until almost brown. Then add tomatoes and cook for 1/2 hour over low to medium heat. Add the basil and oregano and continue to cook for another 1/2 hour. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper, cool and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

I ended up cutting the recipe in half and using 2 jars of sauce (Barilla's Marina Sauce) instead of the homemade sauce. :)

Dawnstar
08-09-2007, 12:51 PM
Now this sounds really good. I may just have to try this before I make it for a large group but now it makes me want to have this for dinner tonight.

Limper
08-09-2007, 12:53 PM
That sauce sounds pretty good. I always make my sauce from scratch and its close to that... I use sundried tomatos as well and sweeten it with a touch of taragon.

Lady Fury
08-09-2007, 12:55 PM
That does look good. I'd throw in some pineapple for extra sweetness.

Xavier Lang
08-10-2007, 11:40 AM
Why would you want to sweeten Lasagna?

Varaj
08-10-2007, 11:43 AM
That does look good. I'd throw in some pineapple for extra sweetness.

:confused:

reveal
08-10-2007, 11:49 AM
Why would you want to sweeten Lasagna?
Sweet pasta sauce is actually very common in Italy. A lot of folks put sugar in their pasta sauce. Never heard of it with pineapples, though.

Martin
08-10-2007, 11:53 AM
That sauce sounds pretty good. I always make my sauce from scratch and its close to that... I use sundried tomatos as well and sweeten it with a touch of taragon.

A trick I learned recently is to add three anchovies to the oil before the onions and the garlic. The anchovies disintegrate, add a bit of saltiness and aren't detectable in the final product.

Varaj
08-10-2007, 11:55 AM
Sweet pasta sauce is actually very common in Italy. A lot of folks put sugar in their pasta sauce. Never heard of it with pineapples, though.

I just vomited a little in my mouth.

Sojourner Judas
08-10-2007, 11:58 AM
Okay, I can definitely see why the Ricotta is crucial in this recipe.

reveal
08-10-2007, 12:07 PM
I just vomited a little in my mouth.
Hopefully you're not an emetophiliac. http://rpgcentric.com/images/smilies/emoticons/heh.gif

TiQuinn
08-10-2007, 12:08 PM
Sweet pasta sauce is actually very common in Italy. A lot of folks put sugar in their pasta sauce. Never heard of it with pineapples, though.

It's usually used sparingly though, about a teaspoon in the sauce. Not really to make the sauce "sweet", but to enhance the flavor of the tomatoes, the same way you'd use salt. That's actually why some recipes call for grated or chopped carrots. The sugar from the carrot enhances the tomato flavor. It's also used sometimes to mask acidity.