NicStan Cooks

Eminem sings about “mom’s spaghetti”, but Dad was the chef in my house growing up, if I could I’d sing about Dad’s lasagne. I’ve made this a couple times since blogging but keep forgetting to take a photo. And I forgot again. Time to post it anyway. The carnivore claimed he didn’t like lasagna till I made this one time. The secret is the layer of pesto on top of the ricotta.

Ingredients

• Pomodoro sauce
  • 2 – 28 oz cans whole Tomatoes (Italian style w/ basil) – pureed or chopped
  • 1 – onion chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1/4 cup Olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp. each Oregano & Basil
  • 1 1/2 Tb. Salt
  • Ground Pepper
  • Crushed Red pepper (~1/2 tsp)
• Pesto
  • 2/3 cup olive oil
  • 1 cup fresh basil leaves
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 3 Tbsp toasted pine nuts
  • 1 tsp salt
• Cheeses
  • 1 log sliced mozzarella (get the good stuff)
  • 1 pint ricotta
  • Parmesan cheese
• Lasagne noodles
• 1 lb Italian sausage

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Sauté Onions in olive oil over medium heat for a few minutes, then add garlic for about a minute (stirring so it doesn’t burn).
3. Add spices (except salt & pepper) and mix for another 30 seconds until the spices start to release their flavors.
4. Add tomatoes, salt & pepper.
5. Raise heat to high until sauce gets bubbling, then back to medium for about 10 minutes, partly covered, stirring every few minutes.
6. Cook lasagne noodles al dente, rinse, drain. Add a little olive oil to keep from sticking together.
7. Layer in 9 x 13 pan (or some flat deep pan):
   • Start with noodles, then a light layer of sauce, 1/2 the meat, Mozzarella & a little Parm cheeses
   • Then Noodles, all the ricotta, enough pesto to cover.
   • Then noodles, sauce, meat, Parm cheese
   • Then noodles, a little sauce, Mozzarella & Parm
8. Cover with foil, place on a cookie tray (or something to catch drips)
9. Bake about 25-30 minutes, then remove foil and bake about 10 more minutes on broil to crisp the top cheese (all the ingredients are already cooked, so you’re just heating it through & browning the cheese).

Serve with salad & garlic bread, and vino rosso. Tutti a mangiare!

Green Goddess Salad

Ingredients

• Salad (chop and combine in large bowl)
  • 1 small head Green Cabbage
  • 3-4 baby Cucumbers (or 1 large Cucumber)
  • 1/4 cup Chives
  • 1 bundle Green Onions
• Dressing (put all ingredients in blender)
  • 1/2 cup Basil Leaves
  • 1/2 cup Spinach Leaves
  • 1 cloves Garlic
  • 1 small Shallot
  • Juice of 1 Lemon
  • 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 2 Tbsp Nuts (I used Cashews)
  • 3 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
  • Any extra Chives (optional)