8 Layer Lasagna Recipes

8-LAYER LASAGNA

Steps:

• Place porcini mushrooms in a small bowl with enough warm water to cover; let stand 30 minutes.
• Drain mushrooms. If a more pronounced mushroom flavor is desired, strain liquid through a fine mesh sieve and set aside. Chop mushrooms and set aside.
• Using a piece of kitchen twine, tie together bay leaf, rosemary, thyme, and 2 whole cloves; set aside.
• Melt 6 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add prosciutto and saute until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add onions, celery, and carrots, reduce heat to medium, and cook until very soft but not brown, about 30 minutes.
• In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt 6 tablespoons butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add pork and cook until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Transfer pork to vegetable mixture, reserving skillet. Add tomato paste to pork and vegetable mixture and cook 2 minutes. Meanwhile, add Marsala to reserved skillet and bring to a boil, stirring with wooden spoon or spatula, scraping up all the browned bits from bottom of pan. Pour Marsala over pork and vegetable mixture, place saucepan over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce to a simmer and cook until liquid has reduced by one-third, 30 to 45 minutes. Add chicken stock, herb bundle, and mushroom soaking liquid (if using); stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and let simmer, partially covered, for 2 hours. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper; set aside to cool. Remove herb bundle.
• Heat remaining tablespoon olive oil in large skillet over high heat. Add cremini mushrooms and reserved porcinis; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Fold mushrooms into pork mixture; set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in center. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Brush 12 4 1/2-by-2-inch ramekins with melted butter. Place one pasta round in bottom of each ramekin. Top round with 1 teaspoon Parmigiano-Reggiano. Using a 1 1/2 tablespoons scoop, top cheese with 1 scoop of meat mixture, then 2 teaspoons bechamel sauce. Repeat process until you have 8 layers, finishing with pasta; keep in mind you may not need to use all the pork mixture. Top final layer of pasta with bechamel sauce and sprinkle with cheese.
• Transfer ramekins to baking sheet lined with parchment paper and fitted with wire rack. Cover ramekins with parchment-lined foil and bake until sauce is bubbly, about 15 minutes. Remove parchment-lined foil, increase heat to 425 degrees, and continue baking until crisp on top, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 20 minutes. Serve immediately with extra cheese and meat sauce.

LASAGNA NOODLES FOR 8-LAYER LASAGNA

Steps:

• Place flour into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Mix together yolks and milk in large bowl. Add salt and olive oil. With mixer on low, slowly add egg mixture to flour; mix until well combined. Increase mixer speed to medium and knead until dough pulls away from sides of bowl and is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer dough to work surface lightly dusted with semolina flour and knead until smooth. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 2 hours before rolling, or store in an airtight container, refrigerated, up to 1 day.
• Dust work surface lightly with semolina flour. Divide pasta dough into 16 pieces and flatten each piece with the palm of your hand. Roll each piece of dough through a pasta machine, working from largest setting to smallest setting, passing dough through each setting twice. Using a 4 1/2-inch round cutter, cut pasta sheets into 96 rounds (6 per sheet). Lay pasta rounds on prepared work surface, covered with a damp kitchen towel as you work.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Working in batches, add pasta to boiling water and cook 2 minutes. Drain, and transfer to a baking sheet lined with a kitchen towel, layering kitchen towels between cooked pasta.

CATELLI'S 10 LAYER LASAGNA WITH DOMENICA'S SAUCE

Steps:

• For Domenica's sauce: Lightly saute the garlic and chili flakes in the olive oil in a saucepan. Add the tomatoes and salt and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.
• For the three-cheese filling: Mix together ricotta, goat cheese, Parmesan, basil, mint, nutmeg and some salt and pepper in a bowl.
• For the pasta: Place the yolks in the base of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and turn on low speed. Start slowly adding flour. As the dough starts to come together, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Remove the dough and knead until smooth and not sticky. Let rest for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Cut dough into four quarters. Roll the quarters through a pasta machine, starting with the widest opening, taking it through each opening once or twice and finishing with the smallest opening. (You should be able to see through the finished pasta sheets.)
• Cut sheets into pieces that will fit in a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
• Boil a pot of water and cook pasta sheets for about 1 minute, then remove them and put them in ice water to stop the cooking. Remove the sheets and lay out on clean kitchen towels or napkins.
• For the thyme bechamel: Heat the butter and flour in a saucepan over medium heat and stir together for a minute. Add the milk, thyme and some salt and pepper and cook until mixture starts to thicken. Turn off heat and set aside.
• To assemble: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Coat a large baking dish with olive oil. Lay a sheet of pasta in the bottom and spread with a thin layer of bechamel and cheese filling. Spread with a rubber spatula or large metal spoon. Add a layer of pasta, then spread a layer of tomato sauce on that.
• Repeat this assembly until the pasta is all layered. Finish the top layer with tomato sauce and bechamel and sprinkle with Parmesan and basil. Cover with foil and bake for 24 to 30 minutes. Remove foil and cook for an additional 10 minutes.