Family Lasagna

If you've made our Sunday gravy and traditional Italian meatballs, then roll up your sleeves, because you are ready to tackle old-fashioned, Old World lasagna.

Fear not — if you mastered the tomato sauce and meatballs, you're practically Italian already!

I call this "family lasagna" for two reasons: It's more than enough to feed a crowd of relatives (or friends) and you can put everyone to work helping you make it. The process might seem a bit much, but I remember having lots of fun as a kid, sitting around the kitchen table with my parents, my siblings and sometimes my grandparents, chopping meatballs and sausage and mixing up the ricotta cheese filling before building the lasagna.

Yes, there are many short cuts, like using no-boil lasagna noodles or cooking ground beef with some Italian seasonings instead of making meatballs. But trust me. I've made lasagna the quick way numerous times. The final result just can't compare to the real thing.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Family Meat Lasagna

20 wavy lasagna noodles (usually 1 and 1/2 boxes)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 (15 ounce) containers of ricotta cheese
5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 1/2 cups shredded parmesan cheese, divided
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
6 cups or more of homemade tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups cooked meatballs, chopped
1 1/2 cups cooked Italian sausage links, chopped (mild, sweet or hot)

Preheat over to 375 degrees. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions, adding 1 tablespoon olive oil to water to prevent sticking. After draining noodles, place them on parchment paper.

While lasagna noodles are cooking, mix together ricotta, parmesan cheese, eggs, salt and pepper.

Set up a lasagna prep station, with all ingredients in easy reach.

Cover bottom of a deep 13 x 9 inch casserole dish with 1 cup tomato sauce. Layer 5 lasagna noodles on top, slightly overlapping them.

Top noodles with 1 cup ricotta mixture, 1/2 cup chopped meatballs and 1/2 cup chopped sausage. Top with 1 cup shredded mozzarella and 1 scant cup tomato sauce.

Layer another 5 noodles on top of first meat and cheese layer. Repeat the cheese, meat, mozzarella and tomato sauce layering two more times. Top final noodle layer with tomato sauce, ensuring that corners are covered with sauce. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese on top.

Cover lasagna with foil lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Bake in 375 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil and cook for 15 minutes more. Lasagna is done when it is bubbly.

Depending on your oven, it can take as long as 90 minutes to cook. You can also bump up the temperature to 400 degrees — just check the lasagna more frequently.

Remove from oven and let lasagna sit for about 15 minutes. Then slice and serve.

**Note on make-ahead preparation: You can prepare the lasagna the night before. Just refrigerate and bake within 24 hours.

**Note on freezing lasagna: If you plan to freeze an entire lasagna, it's best to freeze before cooking. Thaw, then cook as directed above.

Sunday Gravy (Tortora family tomato sauce)

Confession time. I rarely make my own tomato sauce – or 'gravy' as us East Coast Italians call it – because it takes time to develop the deep, rich flavor that is its signature.

When I was a kid, my grandmothers made gravy nearly every Sunday, to go with the 'macaroni' we were having at that week's family gathering. When Amy asked for the Tortora tomato sauce recipe, I finally put it down on paper. In the process, I discovered many family variations: My brother adds grated carrot for sweetness. My Dad pours in some red wine. My mom tosses in a pinch of thyme and maybe a dash of sugar. My Grammy Marie always spiced it up with lots of red pepper.

The one component no one ever changes is what makes this gravy special. The tomato sauce simmers for hours with browned Italian sausage links and homemade meatballs. For special occasions such as Christmas, browned beef short ribs and brachiole (thin slices of beef rolled with parmesan cheese, parsley and basil, and tied with kitchen twine) are added.

Prefer chicken? Do what my Grandma Lucy sometimes did: Brown some chicken breasts and thighs and add them to the sauce instead of meatballs and sausage.

Vegetarian? Simply skip the meat.

If you happen to overdue it on one of the spices, as I may or may not have done recently with the red pepper flakes, fear not! Just toss in another can of tomatoes (crushed, diced or sauce) to dilute the strong flavor. You will be rewarded with extra gravy to use for making lasagna or another meal.

Finally, a warning: This recipe makes A LOT of tomato sauce. I use a 22 quart pot. This ensures plenty of room for the meatballs and sausage. If you don't have a pot this large, cut the recipe in half.

My recommendation? Buy or borrow a giant pot, invite your friends and family to dinner and make room in your freezer.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Sunday Gravy

1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil to cover the bottom of a large pot
About 2 cups diced yellow or white onion
3 to 5 minced garlic gloves
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 to 2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 (6 ounce) cans of tomato paste
3 (28 ounce) cans of crushed tomatoes
2 (14.5 ounce) cans of diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 ounce) can of unseasoned tomato sauce
1 (8 ounce) can of unseasoned tomato sauce
1 cup dry red wine, optional
12 or more large cooked meatballs, optional
1 or 2 pounds of browned or baked Italian sausage links, optional

Warm oil in bottom of pot. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent. Add in spices and salt and pepper and cook until golden, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir, cooking until mixture is caramelized. Taking the time to brown the aromatics gives the gravy a richer flavor.

Stir in all cans of tomatoes and tomato sauce. (Note: You can vary the types of tomatoes you use. For example, if you like a chunkier sauce, substitute diced tomatoes for the canned tomato sauce.) Add red wine, if using.

Bring gravy to a boil, stirring occasionally. Lower heat and let simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring a few times. Add meatballs, sausage, etc., and continue to simmer on lowest setting for at least 1 hour but preferably more (you can simmer it all day,) stirring occasionally to prevent sauce from burning in the bottom of the pot.

I recommend tasting the gravy here and there. It's OK to add in more spices as the sauce simmers to achieve the flavor you prefer.

Serve hot with your favorite pasta.

Traditional Italian Meatballs

Meatballs – easy to make and easy to use. And oh so easy to eat. Pop a few on top of spaghetti or pizza, bake some into a lasagna or cover them in cheese inside a warm submarine roll.

Meatball subs are exactly what my family eats on frenetic nights when we are rushing from after school meetings, to sports practices to church activities and somehow need to sandwich (pun intended) in a quick and tasty meal.

One thing I love about making meatballs is that my boys can help. They get a kick out of rolling the meat mixture into golf ball-sized yumminess. My youngest, Sam, helped me with our latest batch. Meatballs freeze well, too. After one recent Christmas, my freezer was stocked-full for months with the dozens of meatballs left from the 90(!!) prepared by my Mom and Grampy.

So make a double batch and store some for later. When you need a fast meal, warm in the microwave, in the oven or in a pot of your favorite tomato sauce.

This is my family's traditional Italian meatball recipe, with one slight change. My Mom uses 1 cup of breadcrumbs for every 1 pound of meat. Too bready for me, so I use fewer breadcrumbs. Feel free to add your own touches here by using ground turkey or chicken, adding chopped onion, experimenting with different seasonings or swapping out some of the dry herbs for fresh herbs you have on hand.

Meatballs are very forgiving and fun – and that's the point!

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Traditional Italian Meatballs & Meatball Subs

1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground veal (you can replace with beef or pork)
4 eggs
1 1/2 to 3 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 tablespoons garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Place meat in large bowl and make a well in the center. Add all other ingredients into the well and mix thoroughly. I recommend using your hands. The consistency should not be too wet or too dry.

Form large or small meatballs and place in foil pans or pans lined with aluminum foil. This is where the kids can help. If you make the meatballs the size of a golf ball you should get about 36.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or longer if your meatballs are larger.

If you plan to serve these meatballs with tomato sauce, let them simmer in the sauce for a bit before eating. This nicely flavors both the sauce and the meatballs.

Meatball Subs

4 submarine or hoagie buns or a large baguette (a softer bread works a little better here)
3 to 4 golf ball-sized meatballs per sandwich
Tomato sauce
Sliced or shredded provolone and/or mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice buns lengthwise. Scoop out some of the inner breading to make a pocket for the meatballs.

Place buns on cookie sheet. Put 3 to 4 meatballs and some sauce inside each bun. Top with cheese.

Toast sandwiches in oven until cheese melts. Enjoy with a green salad.