Sausage, Ricotta and Mozzarella Lasagna

Cooking With Rania - "Homemade Pasta"
KDKA Pittsburgh Today Live 10/17/2012

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Sausage, Ricotta and Mozzarella Lasagna

INGREDIENTS

1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1½ pounds crumbled both sweet and hot sausage
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
2 – 16 ounce purchased tomato basil pasta sauce
½ cup dry red wine

15 ounces part-skim ricotta (about 2 cups)
1 large egg
Fresh pasta (see recipe)
12 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a heavy pot, cook onions and garlic until softened. Add sausage and bell pepper and cook 2 minutes, breaking up sausage. Add tomato sauce and red wine. Simmer 10 minutes.

In a bowl lightly beat egg. In another bowl stir together ricotta, beaten egg, salt and pepper. Grate mozzarella.

Pour 1 cup sauce into a baking dish, 13 by 9 by 2-inches (sauce will not cover bottom completely), and cover with 3 lasagna sheets, making sure they do not touch each other. Spread about 2 cups sauce over pasta. Drop 1/3 of ricotta mixture by spoonfuls onto sauce and gently spread with back of spoon. Sprinkle 1/4 of mozzarella over ricotta mixture. Make 2 more layers in the same manner, beginning and ending with pasta. Spread remaining sauce evenly over top, making sure pasta is completely covered, and sprinkle with Parmesan and remaining mozzarella.

Cover dish tightly with foil, tenting slightly to prevent foil from touching top layer, and bake in middle of oven for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake lasagna 10 minutes more, or until top is bubbling and golden. Let lasagna stand 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: 8 servings as main course

Fresh Pasta

Ingredients

4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons olive oil
Enough warm water to bring the mixture to smooth dough

Directions

Place the flour, eggs, salt, and oil in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process the mixture until it resembles a coarse meal. Begin adding the water very slowly through the feed tube while processing. Add enough liquid to bring the dough together. Using the Atlas Pasta Machine, roll pasta into long ribbons and cut to fit the 9” x 15” lasagna pan. Keep the pasta covered, to prevent from drying, while assembling the lasagna ingredients.