Delicious, Two Sauce, Mama’s Lasagna

I first made this dish 22 years ago while visiting son Rhett’s family when he was stationed in Heidelberg, Germany (US Army).  Then I made it again in 2010 and after you read this post you may see why I don’t make it often.  The recipe comes from “Jackson Hole Ala Carte,” a cookbook put out in 1986 by the Jackson Hole Alliance and still available to buy on the web.

The other day, Bev suggested we make it while we were snowed in but we didn’t have and couldn’t go get the ingredients we needed.  So this week, while we were only rained in, we went to the store then made it for our Friday card group.  I followed the recipe except as noted and the recipe is divided into four separate parts.

Red Sauce

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped onion

½ cup finely chopped carrot

1 clove garlic, minced

¼ cup butter

28 oz Italian style tomatoes & juice

15 oz can tomatoes (added by Larry)

½ cup dry red wine

2 tbsp chopped parsley

1 tbsp dried basil

1 ea Bay leaf

1 tsp dried oregano

1/8 tsp dried thyme

½ tsp sugar

To taste salt and pepper

1 lb ground chuck

½ lb mushrooms, sliced

1 lb Italian sausage, cooked and thinly sliced

Directions:

1. In a heavy 12” sauté pan, cook the onion, carrot, and garlic until tender. Stir in the tomatoes, wine, herbs, and seasonings. Simmer for 1½ hours, partially covered until sauce is thick.

2. Meanwhile, brown the chuck in a large skillet, add mushrooms and sauté until tender. Stir into the completed sauce along with the cooked sausage. Set aside.

This is the finished sauce.

White Sauce

Ingredients:

6 tbsp butter

6 tbsp flour

1 cup milk

1 cup whipping cream

½ tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

½ tsp cayenne

Directions:

Make a roux from the butter and flour, remove from heat and gradually whisk in the milk and cream. When smooth, add the spices, return to heat and bring to a boil for a minute. Remove from heat and set aside with plastic wrap directly on the surface for skim prevention (I just made it last when I was ready to assemble).

Lasagna Filling

2 cups ricotta or cottage cheese

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

¼ cup grated parmesan

4 ea egg yolks

2 tbsp chopped green onion

1 tbsp chopped parsley

1 clv garlic, minced

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

18 lasagna noodles, cooked al dente, drained and patted dry

Directions:

Combine all ingredients, except noodles, and spread about 2 Tbsp of filling on each noodle and roll up jelly roll style – 18 rolls needed.  I found the best tool to spread the filling on the noodle was my index finger. Don’t spread it clear to the noodle edge and about ½” from the outside end, then roll them just tight enough to force it almost to the edges. 

This is the stuffing process - I laid out all of the noodles and divided the filling between them. 

Here they are all rolled up.

To Assemble

1. Preheat oven to 350 and butter an 11"x11" baking dish.

2. Spread ½ of the white sauce in bottom the dish.

3. Place the noodle rolls on end in the dish.

4. Top the rolls with the red sauce, the remaining white sauce, ½ cup mozzarella, ½ cup parmesan and 2 tbsp parsley.

5. Bake for about 45 minutes or until browned and bubbly.

The Verdict:

Just as before, it was delicious and everyone loved it but I’ve decided I’ll just make the layered version from now on and maybe add the white sauce.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

01/26/24 meal date