Doris Roberts Lasagna Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Place a large saute pan over medium-high heat and add the beef and sausage. Cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Add the onions, garlic and dried oregano and cook until they are softened and the meat is cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and toast for 30 seconds, then add the tomatoes and cook until the sauce has thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add the ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, 1/3 cup Parmesan, fresh basil and oregano, salt and pepper and stir to combine.
• Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Arrange a layer of noodles over the sauce and top with a third of the ricotta filling. Spoon over a layer of sauce and top with another layer of noodles. Continue with 2 more layers of ricotta, sauce and noodles, ending with a top layer of noodles. Spoon a thin layer of the remaining sauce over the top, sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan over the noodles and cover with aluminum foil.
• Bake for 45 minutes, then uncover and cook until the cheese is golden and the lasagna is bubbling, another 15 to 20 minutes. Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

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 saute pan, fry sausages until cooked through. When cool, slice and set aside. Saute mushrooms and peas in butter, salt and pepper until soft and mushrooms are starting to brown. Set aside.
• Cook noodles according to package. Drain, separate and set aside.
• Slice eggs and set aside.
• In a fairly deep baking dish, ladle a thin layer of sauce on the bottom (only enough to keep the first layer of noodles from sticking to the dish). Line the dish horizontally with noodles allowing a generous overhang. Spoon on a bit more sauce and arrange another layer of noodles vertically (as if your were making a lattice pie crust). You'll use the noodles that hang over the sides of the dish to wrap the lasagna when you're finished building the layers. Scatter a layer of meatballs onto the noodles. (Be sure to mind the amount of residual sauce that is spooned with the meatballs, as to much sauce will make the dish runny and unable to maintain its shape on the dinner plate).
• Add sliced sausage, egg slices, mushrooms and peas on top of the meatballs. Drop generous dollops of ricotta, followed by a handful of shredded mozzarella and sprinkling of parmesan cheese. Repeat layers until the dish is full; this should give you three substantial layers. When construction is complete, fold the overhanging noodles over the top of the dish. Finish with a layer of sauce and some more parmesan.
• Beat one egg vigorously and pour it over the finished lasagna to keep your masterpiece together. Tap dish on counter top to settle layers.
• Bake at 325°F for 30 to 40 minutes.

Steps:

• For the Lasagna:
• Heat olive oil in a small pan and saute onions and garlic until onions become translucent, being careful not to burn garlic. Stir in tomato paste and 2 cups water and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and cook over low heat for approximately 15 minutes, or long enough to allow flavors to integrate into a sauce.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lay 1/4 (about 15) of the wontons over the bottom of a lasagna dish, followed by a layer each of yellow squash, zucchini, eggplant, fresh tomato, about 1/2 cup tomato sauce, and 1/2 cup of the ricotta. Repeat for a total of 4 layers, finishing on the top layer with the mozzarella. Bake for about 30 minutes covered with foil, and about 10 minutes more uncovered. Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes. While the lasagna is in the oven, begin the red pepper coulis.
• Whisk the cornstarch into the chicken broth. Melt the butter over medium heat in a saute pan, and then add the chicken broth mixture, red peppers and garlic. Simmer 30 minutes. Pour hot mixture into blender and blend until smooth to make red pepper sauce.
• Spoon some red pepper coulis onto serving plate and place a square of lasagna on top. Garnish with fresh basil sprigs.

Steps:

• Throughly mix all ingredients (except oil) in bowl and form into balls about the size of a quarter.
• Heat 1- 1 1/2 inches of vegetable oil in fry pan. When oil sizzles as a drop of water is added, add meatballs and fry until golden brown.
• Transfer to Doris Roberts' Meat Sauce (see recipe on this site).

Steps:

• Cover the bottom of a large pan with good olive oil and turn heat under it to medium. When the oil becomes fragrant, it is warm enough to add the garlic. Add garlic, onion, basil, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper and saute until onion is golden.
• Add meat and cook until brown, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon.
• Add the tomatoes, crushing them by hand. Add puree. Cover and lower heat, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking another 15 minutes. Serve over your favorite pasta or use in lasagna.