Thanksgiving is a special holiday for my wife and me. First, we get to go and hang out with her whole family in New York; second we really enjoy visiting New York City, and finally there is Fran’s lasagna night! (which we do every year in addition to our traditional Thanksgiving dinner) New York of course is a land of great bagels and pizza and excellent Italian food, but it’s a real treat when your Italian food comes from the source – an Italian family. Italian food over all is very simple to make, yet it’s very hard to find good Italian food in this country. (Hell, it’s even hard to find in New York) The reason for that is that most people try to add more to Italian food that it needs to have. The beauty of an Italian meal, as with many things in life, is in its’ simplicity.
So here is a real-deal, New York style slice of Italian pre-Thanksgiving celebration on Long Island, which became a family tradition:
Fran's Meat Lasagna
Method:
Sautéing, Stewing, Baking
Fran Cooking
Cookware:
Sauté pan, Large Saucepan or Dutch Oven
4 28 oz cans of Tuttorosso crushed tomatoes
or San Marzano whole tomatoes put through a food-mill (this is really important!)
3 pounds lean ground beef
1 lb sweet Italian sausage links chopped with casings removed
5 cloves of garlic chopped
1 medium onion finely chopped
Olive oil
Salt, pepper, basil to taste
Brown meat in a separate pan in a small amount of olive oil, and set aside.
Cover bottom of a large heavy bottom saucepan or Dutch oven with olive oil. When hot add onion and sauté until soft, add garlic until light golden color then add crushed food-milled tomatoes, salt and pepper and basil. (Both dry or fresh basil work, but Fran prefers dry) Bring tomato sauce to simmer then add browned meat. Cover and simmer for approximately 2 hours stirring occasionally. Adjust with salt and pepper to taste.
Lasagna
Ingredients:
Cooked lasagna pasta
Tomato sauce (above)
Ricotta mix: Ricotta (3lb) + 1egg + ½ cup Parmesan Cheese – well mixed
parmesan, mozzarella cheese
In a Lasagna pan add a little of Fran’s sauce on the bottom, then add a layer of cooked Lasagna pasta, ricotta mix, mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. Add a layer of sauce and repeat the process. Top layer should have sauce on it. Cook for a few hours and add cheese on the top at the last 15 minutes.
Tips & Tricks:
Use only high quality canned Italian plum tomatoes (like San Marzano)
Simmer on low, never boil your sauce
Use heavy cookware – it will prevent your food from burning or hot spots.
Keep it simple.
Tags: cheese, Fran's lasagna, Italian food, Italian plum tomatoes, lasagna, meat lasagna, meat sauce, Thanksgiving cooking, tomato sauce
This looks like a fantastic recipe. I’m wondering if I will be able to find the Tuttorosso or San Marzano tomatoes here in California. Thanks for posting a great recipe.
Tom,
Thanks for the note. You can find San Marzano and other Italian brand tomatoes in Whole Foods. (that’s where i get them) I sometimes make my tomato sauce with Trader Joe’s unsalted tomatoes. I think the point really is they gotta be canned, they gotta be plum tomatoes and they really need to be put through the food mill.
I hope you all enjoy this lasagna recipe. Remember, if you make the lasagna a day in advance, all you have to do is bake it (covered with foil)
for approximately l to l l/2 hours. at 350. I like to remove the foil and add some shredded mozzarella cheese the last 15 or 20 minutes. serve with a tossed salad, really good Italian bread, and your favorite red wine.
If only other webmasters would do what you have done and build a really worthwhile site on the subject. Most of them load the pages with junk, but this is exactly what I was looking for – Fran’s Thanksgiving Lasagna with tomato sauce, Italian food | It’s Cookin’. Thank you from a very grateful Carrie Mason