[CH] Piquin Lasagna
Deb deForest (deforest@selec.net)
Tue, 26 Oct 1999 11:04:44 -0500
Here's something I made last night that turned out really good and was
fairly easy as lasagna goes, too. I'm sure if you don't have fresh piquins,
dried will be good, too. Just crumble them in and mix with the meat right
before taking it off heat.
Deb's Lasagna with Basil and Piquins
You don't have to cook the lasagna noodles first, assemble straight from the
box, nice one-step process.
1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin
Fresh picked Firecracker Piquin chiles to taste (4 is good starting point)
1 26-ounce jar Barilla Marinara sauce (or any thick marinara sauce)
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (omit or use flat-leafed parsley if fresh basil
is not available)
1 1-pound box of lasagna noodles, uncooked
1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/8 cup (approx, I just used a handful) pitted and sliced black olives
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Saute beef in heavy large skillet over
medium-high heat until cooked through, breaking up meat with back of spoon,
about 5 minutes. Add chopped piquins and stir and cook about 1 more minute,
coughing as necessary from the fumes (be sure to cover your mouth). Remove
from heat and set aside.
Mix salt to taste with ricotta cheese and then add eggs, mixing well to form
a creamy blend. Set aside.
Combine marinara sauce (Barilla really is the best brand, IMO), water, and
basil in large bowl.
Ladle 1 1/2 cups of the sauce mixture in the bottom of a 12 x 8 1/2 x 2 inch
glass baking dish. Lay 1/3 of the uncooked noodles, slightly overlapping if
necessary, on top of the sauce. Spread 1/2 of the ricotta mix over the
noodles. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese and top that with all
of the black olive slices. Now add 1/2 of the meat mixture and 1/4 cup of
the Parmesan cheese. Finally top that with another 1 1/2 cups of sauce.
Continue this layering process with another 1/3 of the noodles, the rest of
the ricotta mix, then the rest of the mozzarella, the rest of meat, and
another 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese. Top with the last 1/3 of the
uncooked noodles (gently squishing down if nec so the layers don't stick up
too much above the sides of the baking dish and make sure they don't stick
out over the sides at all). Ladle the last of the sauce over everything,
covering completely. Sprinkle with the remining 1/2 cup parmesan. Cover
TIGHTLY with heavy duty aluminum foil and place on a baking sheet.
Bake until noodles are tender and lasagna is heated through, about 1 1/2
hours (if you remove the foil to check for doneness, be sure to put back on
tightly if you return dish to the oven again.) Uncover and broil briefly,
if desired, to lightly brown top. Let stand a full 15 minutes minimum
before serving. Cut lasagna in squares and serve with salad and garlic
bread. (Could be made 1 day ahead and rewarmed, covered, in 350F oven for
about 45 min.)