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...

Homemade pesto

dinnertime...linguine, my homemade pesto and a sprinkle of cheese.

I absolutely love pesto. I love it on pasta (natch), bread, vegetables, fish, even just a plain spoonful. I've been wanting to make it from scratch for a while now since it seems like it should be super easy to make and would take advantage of having lots of fresh basil available in the summer. Plus, I figured it would be even more delicious freshly made. Here is the general recipe I made up, but this is definitely the kind of recipe you can adjust to suit your tastes.

This recipe made a lot of pesto, so when it was done, I split it in half and poured some olive oil over the top so the basil didn't get discolored (pics 13, 14 below). I stored half in the freezer and left the other half in the fridge to eat over the course of a week or so. The frozen pesto should be good for at least 1-2 months...maybe longer but mine never lasts that long! If you don't want to freeze it in one big jar like I did, you can do it in an ice cube tray and then, when frozen, transfer the cubes to a zip bag. 

Homemade Basil Pesto
Ingredients
16 oz fresh basil leaves, about 4 packed cups (I used the 4 oz packs from Happy Valley brand) 
3/4 cup pine nuts
4-5 cloves garlic (I love garlic so used 5 cloves)
2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (I used a combination of parmesan sarvecchio and parmigiano reggiano. Go for the quality stuff here...nothing out of a green canister!)
1/2 cup olive oil
~ 1/3 teaspoon each salt and pepper (to taste)

Directions
Pick over the basil and discard any brown or old leaves. Wash and dry the basil leaves (pic 7).

Put the grated parmesan cheese, pine nuts and garlic cloves into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles bread crumbs (pics 8, 9).

Add the basil leaves and pulse until combined (pics 10, 11). At this stage it will resemble a thick green paste.

With the food processor running, drizzle in the olive oil (you may need slightly less/more than 1/2 cup) until you get the consistency you want. Sprinkle in the salt and pepper and blend again for a few seconds. Voila, fresh homemade petso (pic 12)...how easy was that?!

Stir into pasta, vegetables or a baked potato and enjoy!

mise en place

I used two cheeses - the parmesan sarvecchio was a bit more mild tasting

while the parmigiano reggiano was sharper and "nuttier" tasting

I used my food processor to grate the cheese...took about 12 seconds!

into a separate bowl so I can add the cheese a little at a time, as needed

lots of garlic!

(pic 7) washing and drying the basil leaves

(pic 8) pine nuts, cheese, garlic go into the food processor

(pic 9) I pulsed them together until they resembled bread crumbs

(pic 10) add the basil leaves. I had to do in 2 bunches (add, blend, add the rest) since they were so bulky.

(pic 11) blend until the basil is incorporated

(pic 12) after adding the olive oil. The longer you mix it, the creamier it will get

(pic 13) I split the pesto into 2 jars - one to freeze and one to enjoy now

(pic 14) pour a little olive oil on the top to prevent discoloration

mouth wateringly delicious!

Bye for now...

A Light Supper: Insalata Caprese and a Mushroom, Onion and Goat Cheese Tart

During my Christmas Cookie Decorating party I served a light supper of a delicious Insalata Caprese and a Mushroom, Onion and Goat Cheese Tart. I wanted something light but tasty to help everyone try to avoid a complete and utter sugar overload.

I got the tart recipe from Martha Stewart and added some thyme to add a little bit of flavor. It was delicious! It was very easy to make and was something that you could do several hours or even a day in advance (make the filling ahead and then assemble and bake the day of).

The Caprese salad was also incredible and the presentation is so pretty. The combination of flavors with the fresh mozzarella, basil and tomato just can't be beat. Add some crusty bread, red wine and that's my idea of a perfect meal. Yum!

mise en place for the Mushroom, Onion and Goat Cheese Tart

for the salad: tomatoes, fresh basil and fresh mozzarella cheese

then add some balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper and voila

the finished insalata caprese...Delizioso!

mushrooms, spinach and onions cooked and ready to be layered onto the prepared puff pastry

hot out of the oven

the finished tart...delicious!

Bye for now...