Cowboy Lasagna

Buongiorno! Translated from Italian to cowboy language, that a greeting that means “good day.” For today’s Christmas edition, I’m taking a traditional Italian baked lasagna and putting a cowboy twist on it. Hey, that sounds like a good day to me!

The foundation for any good Italian dish is the sauce. So I’m starting with a dozen Roma tomatoes, putting them in a stock pot that’s about half full of water and boiling about 10-15 minutes, until the skin starts to crack. Take the tomatoes out of the hot water and put them in cool water. You’ll want to peel the tomatoes later and the cool water will make that process easier.

Let’s Meat At The Skillet

I’m using a pound and a half of Certified Angus Beef along with a pound of Italian sausage and browning it over medium heat. Fold in one pound of sliced mushrooms, season with Red River Ranch Original Seasoning and let the meat mixture continue to cook.

Time To Hit The Sauce

Take the cooled tomatoes, peel and place in a blender with garlic, onion and herbs. Now, here’s where we break tradition by adding a can of Rotel diced tomatoes w/green chilies. Follow with Italian seasoning and Worcestershire sauce then pulse until well blended. Put half of the sauce in a sauce pan and add the browned meat. Using the skillet you cooked your meat in, add butter and chopped onion. Cook until the onion is translucent. Add a can of tomato paste and mix well.

Tip: Watch the mixture closely because you just want it to brown, not burn.

Uniting Two Sauces

Pour the butter/tomato paste mixture into the blender that’s been holding half the original tomato sauce. Blend together to incorporate all the flavors, adding a little olive oil and some coarse ground black pepper. Pour this sauce into the sauce pan that holds your meat mixture. Add one half cup of dry red wine and let this simmer together for three hours. This is will be a thick sauce, so you’ll need to stir it often to keep the flavors blended.

Use Your Noodle

About 15 minutes before the sauce is finished cooking, put a one pound package of lasagna noodles into a stock pot of water and add a little oil. Boil together for about three minutes, until the noodles are al dente, or slightly undercooked. Remove from the heat and put the noodles in cold water.

Tip: Al dente noodles are preferred because they will continue cooking once put in the oven. Undercooking at this stage will keep them from getting mushy.

Getting Cheesy

Time for the make the gooey cheesiness that everybody loves about lasagna. It gets a little repetitive here, so bear with me. Beat two eggs. Stir together ricotta cheese and fresh mozzarella cheese with chopped spinach and shredded jalapeño pepper. Mix. Add shredded mozzarella. Mix. Add parmesan Romano. Mix.

Putting The Pieces Together

I’m using a 12-inch Dutch oven to bake this lasagna, but you can use a convention oven (375 degrees), as well. Just make sure your casserole dish is deep enough. First step: grease your Dutch oven or casserole, then add a thin layer of the meat sauce. Top with a layer of noodles and more meat sauce, then a layer of the cheese mixture. Repeat layers of noodles, meat sauce and cheese, ending with with the cheese mixture on top. Cover tightly with aluminum foil, to keep the cheese from burning. Cook for 20-25 minutes, remove the foil and cook for another 20-25 minutes. When the lasagna is done, remove from the heat and let it set for about 20 minutes before cutting into it.

You’ll be happy you tried this cowboy version of baked lasagna. It’s full of cheesy goodness that will make any day a good day.