Four Cheese Lasagna

I was having company over for dinner and lasagna was one of their requests when I asked them what they liked.  So I went with homemade Caesar salad, cheesy (Mozza, Grana Padano, Provolone & Ricotta - 5 lbs at least!) lasagna and homemade garlic bread.  Oh, and Tuxedo cake for dessert but I bought that at Costco.  I decided to assemble and bake this the day before.  I would just heat it up when they arrived.  I made the sauce two days before.

Sauce (Day 1):

• 2 lbs organic lean ground beef
• 1 lb mild Italian sausage, casings removed (I would have used HOT except we had a child dining, and an adult child too 😉)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 heaping tablespoons freeze dried Italian seasoning
• Kosher salt & fresh cracked pepper, to taste
• Teaspoon of "sugar in the raw"
• 2 cans (398 ml) organic low-sodium tomato sauce
• 158 ml can organic low-sodium tomato paste
• 680 gram jar organic low-sodium passata (strained tomatoes)
• 1 cup of low-sodium chicken stock
• Handful of fresh Italian parsley chopped

I sauteed the onions with garlic in olive oil and seasoned with S&P.  When soft, I added in the beef and sausage.  When they were browned, I drained the fat off.  I put in the tomato paste next and stirred for a few minutes.  Everything remaining went into the pool.  I simmered this for about 3 hours, then checked the seasoning.  I cooled it and put it in the fridge overnight.  

Assembly (Day 2):

My absent sous-chef son grated the cheeses for me.  That was:

• 2 lbs of reduced sodium mozza, grated (I bought this on sale at Costco, I wouldn't buy it again as it was hard to grate and the texture was weird.  It tasted okay though)
• 2 cups of Grana Padano, grated fine  
• Ricotta (2 lbs), I combined it with 1 beaten egg, 3/4 cup of fresh, finely chopped Italian parsley and 1 cup of Grana Padano, S&P to taste

The Provolone was already sliced (I ended up using 24 slices).  I preheated the oven to 350°F.  I used cooking spray on my deep dish lasagna pan.  I started with a layer of sauce (I reheated it first),  then noodles, then sauce.  I laid the provolone down with a scant sprinkle of mozza in the holes.

Next layer was noodles, sauce and then ricotta mix.

I repeated these two layers until there were 3 layers of provolone and 2 of ricotta.

I topped with sauce and mozza and Grana Padano on the top layer.

It felt like this weighed about 20 lbs when I lifted the pan!   I put this oven for 60 minutes and covered it tightly with tinfoil.  At that time, I removed the foil for another 30 minutes so I could try and brown the cheese.  It didn't so I put it under the broiler until golden (5 minutes).

I let it cool and then refrigerated overnight.

Serving (Day 3):

Today I preheated the oven to 200°F.  I brought the tray to room temperature and then covered in foil again.  I let it heat until hot, about 3 hours.  I cranked the oven back to 350°F when I put in the garlic bread for about 20 more minutes.  Time to plate...

Everyone loved everything from the Caesar salad to the garlic bread to the lasagna.  Got compliments that it was "restaurant quality" and I felt very happy with the love I put into it.  Lots went home with my guests too, so even better!  I'm about 10 lbs lighter in the lasagna department now...