Victoria Gottis Sunday Lasagna Recipes

VICTORIA GOTTI'S SUNDAY LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, 3/4 pound of the mozzarella, 3/4 cup of the romano cheese, the eggs, milk, and the salt and pepper. Whisk the mixture by hand until it looks creamy and the ingredients are evenly blended. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Heat 1/2 cup of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and sausage. Saute for 6 minutes, stirring so it doesn't stick.
• In a large suacepan, heat the sunday gravy. Stir in the sausage. Cover the saucepan and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• In a large pot filled with boiling water, place the noodles and the remaining 2 tbl of oil. Cook the noodles until al dente, about 6-8 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water, set aside.
• Spread a thin layer of the sauce on the bottom of a lasagna pan, place a single layer of noodles over the sauce.
• Top the noodles with another ladle of sauce.
• Drain and excess liquid from the refrigerated ricotta mixture, and spoon 1/4 of the mixture over the first layer of noodles and sauce. Repeat the process three times, layering noodles, sauce, and cheese four times (there should be 4 layers total) and end with a layer of sauce. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella, 1/4 cup romano, and oregano and parsley flakes on top.
• Bake the lasagna for 40 minutes, or until the cheese on top is golden and bubbling.
• Allow the lasagna to cool for 30 minutes before serving.

LAZY NO-BAKE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or large, wide pot over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up clumps with a wooden spoon, until brown, about 6 minutes. Add the Marinara and 3 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil. Add the pasta, then partially cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is al dente and the sauce is coating it nicely, about 16 minutes. Stir in the mozzarella and ricotta, then sprinkle with the Parmesan and basil, and serve.
• Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until it just turns golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, Italian seasoning, basil, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 minutes. Take off the heat and stir in the butter until melted. Add salt and pepper to taste.

CLASSIC ITALIAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Bechamel sauce:
• In a 2-quart pot, melt 5 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. When butter has completely melted, add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly to prevent any lumps from forming. Continue to simmer and whisk over medium heat until the sauce is thick, smooth and creamy, about 10 minutes. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of wooden spoon. Remove from heat and add the nutmeg and tomato sauce. Stir until well combined and check for seasoning. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
• In a saute pan, heat extra-virgin olive oil. When almost smoking, add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Brown meat, breaking any large lumps, until it is no longer pink. Remove from heat and drain any excess fat. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
• In a medium sized bowl, thoroughly mix the ricotta and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Into the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, spread 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the pasta sheets side by side, covering the bottom of the baking dish. Evenly spread a layer of all the ricotta mixture and then a layer of all the spinach. Arrange another layer of pasta sheets and spread all the ground beef on top. Sprinkle 1/2 the mozzarella cheese on top of the beef. Spread another 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the final layer of pasta sheets and top with remaining bechamel, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into 1/4-inch cubes and top lasagna.
• Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place lasagna dish on top, cover and put on the middle rack of the oven and bake until top is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue to bake for about 15 minutes.
• In a large casserole pot or Dutch over, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.
• Add 1/2 the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.
• If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.

SUNDAY LASAGNA

Steps:

• 1. Break noodles. Place half in bottom of greased slow cooker.
• 2. Brown ground beef. Drain. Stir in Italian seasoning. Spread half over noodles in slow cooker.
• 3. Layer half of sauce and water, half of mushrooms, half of ricotta or cottage cheese and half of mozzarella cheese over beef. Repeat layers. Cover.
• 4. Cook on low for 5 hours. (I doubled these ingredients and made 3 layers and I used cottage cheese instead of ricotta cheese.)

VICTORIA GOTTI'S SUNDAY GRAVY SPAGHETTI SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic browning slightly, be careful not to burn it.
• Add the meat a few pieces at a time. Brown all the pieces on both sides, about 5 minutes per side.
• Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, bouillon cubes, and water to the meat mixture, stir to combine. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Add the salt and pepper, basil sprigs, oregano, and parsley to the pot, cover and let simmer for 2-3 hours until the meat is falling off the bone and the sauce has thickened. Stir the pot every 20 minutes.
• When the sauce is done and the meat is tender, remove the meat from the sauce and set aside in a covered casserole dish. Serve both the meat and the sauce with your choice of pasta.