Tuesday, December 23, 2014

A Birthday/Lasagne Dinner Party: Two Sausage & Collard Greens Lasagne

Continuing my birthday lasagne post from a few weeks ago, here is the recipe for the other lasagne I made for my party last summer, a Two Sausage & Collard Greens Lasagne (see here for the first lasagne: Roasted Portobello, Bacon & Kale Lasagne).

meaty, cheesy, delicious

looks and smells delicious!

Here is my recipe for Two Sausage & Collard Greens Lasagne (adapted this Bon Appetit recipe):

Ingredients
Sausage & Collard Greens Filling:
2 T. olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 small bunch collard greens (or kale)
approx. 2 pounds of sausage casings removed (I used half sweet Italian pork sausage and half chicken chorizo sausage)
5-6 large garlic cloves, pressed or finely minced (+/- cloves, depending on how you feel about garlic)
salt & pepper
1/2 c. dry white wine
2 28-oz cans whole peeled tomatoes with the puree
1 c fresh basil, chopped then divided
1 T fresh thyme, roughly chopped
1/2 T dried oregano (or 1 T fresh oregano, chopped)

1 15-oz container whole-milk ricotta cheese
12 oz whole-milk mozzarella cheese, grated on the large holes (about 3 c. packed)
1 1/4 c. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated on the large holes, divided into 1 c. and 1/4 c.

1 pound lasagne noodles (16-20 noodles), slightly under-cooked as they will finish cooking when you bake the lasagne, set aside

ingredients for the lasagne filling

I used two different sausages - sweet Italian and a chicken chorizo

use fresh basil for the best flavor - so gorgeous and fragrant!

I cooked my lasagne noodles way in advance and then rubbed them in olive oil
and set them aside while I prepped the ingredients and made the filling

Method
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Set aside a 13x9" glass baking dish or a large roasting pan (I used my large All-Clad roaster).

Cut the collard greens into a chiffonade (see picture below), set aside.

cutting the collards into a chiffonade. This will help them cook in the sauce.

Heat the 2 T. olive oil in a very large heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Add the onions, sprinkle with salt, and saute about 5 minutes. Add the collard greens and cook an additional 5 or so minutes until the collards are bright green and beginning to wilt.

cooking down the onions and collard greens

Remove the sausage from the casings and add to the pan. Use a large spoon to break the sausage into bite-sized pieces. Add the garlic and stir; season with pepper and a little more salt, stir. Saute until the sausage is fully cooked, about 8 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil, cook for 1 minute (to burn off the alcohol).

Using your hands to break them apart, add the whole tomatoes to the pan (see picture below).

use your hands to break the tomatoes into chunks as you add them to the pan

Add the remaining tomato puree from the 2 cans, stir, then add 1/2 of the chopped basil, the chopped thyme and the dried oregano.

add the tomato puree and herbs

Give the mixture a good stir to combine everything. Bring to a boil again, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, 1 c. Parmigiano-Reggiano, and the other 1/2 c. of basil; stir well to blend. Season with a little salt and pepper.

the cheese filling

Assembling the lasagne
You'll make four layers in total and will want some sauce leftover for the top. If your layers are messy - no problem! - they will all blend together when the lasagne bakes.

Spread approx. 1 c. of sauce over the bottom of the pan. Cover with 4 noodles, slightly overlapping them if need be (if you are using the glass baking dish, only 3 noodles will fit). Drop 1/4 of the cheese mixture by spoonfuls over the noodles; spread as best you can.

Repeat the layering: spread 1 c. of sauce, layer 4 noodles, spread 1/4 of the cheese mixture; then again a third time, then a fourth time. There should some sauce left, so spread that over the last cheese layer.

ending with the remaining sauce spread over the fourth layer

After the remaining sauce is spread over the final cheese layer, sprinkle the remaining 1/4 c. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese evenly over the top.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 50-55 minutes, until heated through and the cheese is melted and golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

baked to a golden brown

time to try a bite...yum


Bye for now...

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