Sandy's Lasagna

The question was whether to make Ed Giobbi's Lasagna, which I have regarded as the World's Best for eons, or to branch out. Most of the lasagna recipes call for a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, and I had 13 people coming and didn't want to run out of food. I Googled around and even Googled "Ed Giobbi" and a blog (which I didn't note) popped up with the blogger torn between two recipes: Ed Giobbi's and someone in Milwaukee Wisconsin called Sanford D'Amato. The recipe called for as 12 x 15 inch pan. Bingo!

The blogger (Kim) claimed that each was the world's best lasagna, depending on whose you were eating when you made the pronouncement. He said to try them both and let him know which you thought was best. I accepted the challenge, printed out the recipe and was off and running. Made the sauce a day ahead. What a production!

Yesterday I made my own assembly instructions, but couldn't fit five layers of pasta into the huge pan. Baked it. Smoke alarm went off. No fantastic smells emanating from oven, but, zowie, it looked awfully good when I took the parchment and the foil off. Lots of ooohhhs and ahhhhs. Tasted fantastic. Basked in compliments.

Divided left overs into various portions and stuck in freezer. We ate a modest dinner of it tonight. This is good! Recipe below. I didn't use all the oil to brown the sausage because the sausage was exuding its own oil. I used 2 lbs. sweet and 1 lb. spicy and that was about right. Raise your glass of Chianti to Sandy and Ed. We need more competitions like this. A Lasagna-off? Hmmmm.

Sandy's Lasagna
Tomato-sausage sauce (see recipe)2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt plus additional salt for lasagna water (divided)2 pounds lasagna noodles (I use De Cecco)3 ounces Italian parsley tops (about 2 large bunches cleaned and dried)2 ounces basil leaves2 pounds ricotta cheese (divided)1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg3 egg yolks1 pounds mascarpone cheese1/2 pound aged Asiago cheese, grated1/2 pound Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated1 1/2 pounds whole milk mozzarella, sliced thin1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Prepare tomato-sausage sauce and let cool.
Fill large (about 3-gallon) pot with water and bring to boil; add about 3 to 4 tablespoons salt until water tastes slightly salty. Cook noodles according to package directions, about 7 to 8 minutes.
While noodles cook: To food processor, add parsley and basil and process until fine. Add half the ricotta, the 21/2 teaspoons salt, the pepper and nutmeg and process (about 30 seconds) until fine. Add egg yolks and remaining ricotta and process until just mixed. Place mixture in bowl and mix in mascarpone. Set aside.
When noodles are done, drain and re-cover with cold water. When cool, drain noodles. Place noodles individually on sheet pan layered with plastic wrap, placing plastic wrap between each individual layer.
Set out all remaining ingredients and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spread 1 1/2 cups sauce over bottom of deep, 16-by-12-inch baking pan. Place layer of noodles (about 8 to cover) just slightly overlapping. Spread over it 2 cups sauce with spatula. Sprinkle a fourth of the sausage slices (from the sauce), then a fourth of the ricotta mixture (I like to pipe it out with a pastry bag and lightly spread it to cover), then sprinkle over 1/2 cup Asiago, 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano and a fifth of the mozzarella slices. Place a layer of noodles over top (8 again) and lightly press down.
Repeat sauce, sausage, ricotta, Asiago, Parmigiano-Reggiano and mozzarella three more times. Then top with fifth layer of noodles, final layer of mozzarella and sauce to cover and sprinkle with remaining Asiago and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Sprinkle over top the 1/4 cup of olive oil and cover with sheet of parchment paper. Cover parchment with foil and place in preheated oven 11/2 to 2 hours, until instant-read thermometer reads 150 degrees. Remove parchment and foil and let lasagna cook 10 more minutes to brown slightly. Remove and let rest at least 20 minutes before cutting. Serve with remaining tomato sauce. Makes 12 servings.

Tomato sausage sauce
3 pounds Italian sausages1 1/2 pounds (2 large) onions, diced2 ounces (8 large cloves) chopped garlic2 ounces basil, chopped1 bunch parsley stems, chopped4 bay leaves4 sprigs thyme1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil1 cup tomato paste2 cups pork or chicken stock4 cans (28 ounces each) peeled plum tomatoes in juice, pureed in food processorKosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Brown sausages in heavy-bottomed pot in olive oil. Remove and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Add onions to pot and saute until lightly browned. Add garlic and herbs and saute 1 minute, then add tomato paste and saute 1 more minute. Add stock and tomatoes, stir, and bring to boil. Add sausage.
Cover and simmer in preheated oven 45 minutes or until sauce is of correct consistency. Remove bay leaf, thyme and sausages. When sausages are cool, cut each into 1/4-inch discs and reserve cold. Season sauce with salt and pepper and cool.

I would say this would serve at least 16 unless you were serving football players or lumberjacks.

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