Not quite Barefoot Contessa, but close: Lasagne with Chicken Sausage

 

 

 

I have been wanting to make this recipe for a while - but could never find the right ingredient - well, I probably could have done if I had looked hard enough, but the fact of the matter is that a quick dash around the supermarket aisles on a Friday night (if I haven't done it online that is: another sop to my role of English teacher up to her neck in A level English Literature coursework) does not necessarily facilitate the idle wanderings and musings that I would like food shopping to be. Anyway, I found the ingredient, well as close as I was going to get, not living in The Hamptons like the Barefoot Contessa, and thought the time is now for lasagna with turkey sausage, only this is a Lola and Finn's Mum's version so it's chicken sausage with Italian herbs and the 'lasagne' bit is spelt correctly. (Don't take offence US readers - this is merely an example of what is known as 'British' humour. Yes, that's right. Humour).

 

Now I had forgotten that this recipe has a reasonably extensive list of ingredients, some of which I did not have, so I made do with some random stuff in the fridge. Therefore, if you make this, it is quite rich with what turns out to be a four cheese sauce, plus quite a strong tomato and herb sauce flavour to accompany it, and so I would buy in what I needed and make loads as a little goes a long way, . That said, the recipe below that I used and adapted, roughly cuts the ingredient quantity in half, being that I only had half the sausage content to play with in the first place. It just so happened that I had enough with what I had left in the fridge to make half of the original.

 

The other adaptation I made was that I was concerned that during the cooking of the tomato sauce, the sauce would become too thick before the puree cooked out, and so I added 200ml of chicken stock to the tomato sausage mixture, in the hope that it would give a more rounded flavour.

 

This was a very punchy, satisfying dish - great for a crowd if you go ahead and make loads, or with a bit of garlic bread and some salad for a Saturday night meal.

 

Lasagne with Chicken Sausage, adapted from Lasagna with Turkey Sausage, adapted from Barefoot Contessa Family Style by Ina Garten and here

 

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum and Dad

 

(Cup measurements, as this is an American recipe - my adaptations in red)

 

Ingredients:

 

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)

2 garlic cloves, minced

750g chicken sausage with Italian herbs, casings removed

1  can (14oz) tinned tomatoes

3oz tomato puree

200ml chicken stock

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves (I used 2 tsp Italian seasoning)

sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

lasagne sheets

7oz ricotta cheese

1 to 2 oz creamy goat cheese, crumbled (I used Tallegio cheese)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for sprinkling

1 medium egg, lightly beaten

250g fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

 

Method:

 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

 

Heat the olive oil in a suitable pan that will be big enough to hold the sauce once all the ingredients are added

 

 

 

Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.

 

 

 

Add the sausage and cook over medium-low heat, breaking it up with a fork, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until no longer pink.

 

 

 

Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the basil, (Italian seasoning), the chicken stock, salt, and  pepper to taste. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat, for 15 to 20 minutes, until thickened. Taste for seasoning once again.

 

If you are using lasagne sheets you need to soak, now would be a good time to do this.

 

 

 

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, goat cheese, (Tallegio) the Parmesan, the egg, the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley,  salt, and  pepper to taste. Set aside.

 

 

 

Start the layering process by ladling some of the sausage mixture over the bottom of a baking dish. Then add the layers as follows: some pasta, some mozzarella and then the ricotta mixture. Repeat, ensuring you finish off with the ricotta. Lastly, sprinkle with some of Parmesan.

 

 

 

Bake for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling then allow to cool slightly before serving.

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This post is linked to Cook like a Star, ALL Stars Anniversary organised by me, Bake for Happy Kids, Joyce from Kitchen Flavours and Mich from Piece of Cake. 

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