Creamy Tomato Lasagna With Mascarpone Cheese Recipes

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the lasagne noodles.
• To make the sauce: Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a medium sauce pot, saute garlic and onion until the onions become translucent. Add crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer about 20 minutes, checking periodically to make sure the sauce doesn't burn.
• Boil the lasagne noodles until al dente, about 15 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Toss with olive oil so the noodles don't stick together. Let cool.
• This lasagne will have 4 layers but 2 different types of cheese layers. One cheese layer will consist of mascarpone, ricotta, Parmesan and egg to bind. Combine these 4 ingredients in a bowl and set aside briefly. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Layer 4 to 5 lasagne noodles lengthwise side by side in an ovenproof lasagne dish with edges overlapping. Top with half of the mascarpone/ricotta cheese mixture. (It is easiest to drop evenly spaced spoonfuls of this over the noodles, and then spread it out.) Distribute half of the fresh basil and half of the fresh oregano over the cheese, then layer another 4 or 5 lasagne noodles over the cheese in the same fashion as the first layer of noodles.
• The second layer of cheese will consist of provolone and mozzarella. Spread half of the provolone cheese slices over the second layer of noodles and sprinkle with half of the mozzarella. Repeat the process with the noodles, remaining mascarpone/ricotta and noodles for the third layer. For the last layer, spread out the remaining noodles, top with remaining provolone, but then ladle the tomato sauce over and finish with the remaining mozzarella.
• Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, remove and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Garnish with fresh basil sprigs.

Steps:

• In 3-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium heat until hot. Add carrots, celery and onion. Cook about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add mushrooms and cook about 5 minutes or until they have given up most of their juices.
• Crumble sausage and beef into saucepan. Cook 10 minutes, breaking up and stirring occasionally, until no longer pink. Drain excess fat.
• Increase heat to medium-high and stir in wine. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until wine nearly evaporates. Add 1 cup milk and cook about 15 minutes, stirring constantly, until no liquid remains. Reduce heat to low. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, vinegar, basil, black pepper and pepper flakes. Heat to simmer, then simmer 15 minutes.
• Stir in mascarpone and remove sauce from heat. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. (Mixture should be saucy in order to hydrate the noodles during baking.)
• In 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour. Cook about 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until smooth and bubbly and making sure mixture does not brown. Remove from heat.
• Gradually beat in milk with wire whisk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly (especially the corners), and boil 3 minutes or until thickened. (Not cooking the whole time will leave your sauce tasting floury.) Remove from heat and stir in salt, white pepper and nutmeg. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. (Do not add too much salt because you will be adding salty cheese.)
• Adjust oven rack to middle position. Heat oven to 425°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray.
• In medium bowl, mix mozzarella and Parmesan; set aside.
• Spread about 1 1/4 cups of the meat sauce evenly over bottom of baking dish (it may not completely cover the bottom); top with 3 noodles. Top noodles with 1/2 cup of the white sauce, spreading it as best as you can. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the cheese mixture. Top cheese with 1 1/4 cups of the meat sauce. Place 3 noodles on top of meat sauce. Repeat the following layers twice: 1/2 cup white sauce, 1 cup cheese mixture, 1 1/4 cups meat sauce, 3 noodles. Spread remaining white sauce over noodles and sprinkle with remaining 2 cups cheese. You will be at the top of baking dish.
• Tear off piece of foil large enough to amply cover top of baking dish. Spray one side of foil with cooking spray. Cover lasagna with foil, sprayed side down. (Lasagna can be refrigerated up to 12 hours at this point.)
• Bake 30 minutes (if lasagna was refrigerated, bake 40 minutes). Carefully remove foil and bake 20 minutes longer or until top is lightly brown in spots and edges are hot and bubbly.

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add sausage, if using, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it's starting to brown but not yet crisp, about 5 minutes.
• Add onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is totally softened and translucent (without letting it brown), 8 to 10 minutes. Add tomato paste and continue to cook, stirring until the tomato paste has turned a deeper brick red color, tinting the oil and onions a fiery orange color, about 2 minutes.
• Using your hands, crush the whole tomatoes into smaller, bite-size pieces and add them and the crushed tomatoes, stirring to scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pot. Fill one of the tomato cans halfway with water and add it to the pot. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomato sauce has thickened and flavors have come together, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Make the lasagna: Heat oven to 375 degrees and set a large pot of salted water to boil.
• Set aside 1 cup mozzarella. In a medium bowl, combine remaining mozzarella, ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan and cream; season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Cook lasagna noodles in the large pot of salted boiling water until just softened (before they are even aldente), about 4 minutes. Drain and separate any noodles that are trying to stick together, slicking them with a bit of olive oil to prevent them from sticking further.
• Spoon a bit of sauce on the bottom of a 3-quart baking dish and top with a layer of noodles, avoiding any heavy overlap.
• Top with about 1 ¼ cups of sauce, and dollop ¼ of the cheese mixture over. Top with another layer of noodles and repeat three more times, ending with the last of the noodles (depending on size of the noodle/shape of the baking dish, you may have a few extra noodles) and the last of the sauce. Top with reserved 1 cup mozzarella and more Parmesan, if you like.
• Cover loosely with aluminum foil and place baking dish on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet (to prevent any overflow from burning on the bottom of your oven).
• Bake until pasta is completely tender and cooked through and sauce is bubbling up around the edges, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove foil and increase temperature to 450 degrees. Continue to bake until lasagna is golden brown on top with frilly, crispy edges and corners, another 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool slightly before eating.

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add the tomato sauce, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. , In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add the sour cream, 1 cup cheddar cheese and onions; mix well., Spread about 1/2 cup meat sauce into each of two greased 8-in. square baking dishes. Place two to three noodles in each dish, trimming to fit as necessary. Top each with about 1/2 cup cream cheese mixture and 2/3 cup meat sauce. Repeat layers twice. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheddar cheese over each., Cover and freeze one casserole for up to 1 month. Bake remaining casserole, uncovered, at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly and heated through. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting. , To use frozen casserole: Thaw in the refrigerator for 18 hours. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 40-50 minutes or until heated through.

Steps:

• In a skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce, onion, sugar, salt, Worcestershire sauce and garlic salt. In a bowl, beat cream cheese, sour cream and milk until smooth. , In a greased 13x9-in. baking dish, layer a fourth of the meat sauce, six noodles and a third of cream cheese mixture. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining meat sauce. , Cover and bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting. Sprinkle with parsley.