Sausage and Zuccini Lasagna

Bubbling in it's cheesy saucy glory is a lasagna fresh out of the oven. mmmmmm I can almost smell it now, even though it's been almost a week since I made it :)

If there is a single trick to making fool proof lasagna....it is bechamel sauce. This is a sauce that is made of butter, flour and milk. Effectively you start with a roux then add milk...this is the magic sauce my friends. No amount of artisan sausage, homemade sauce or expensive layers of cheese will be as clutch as bechamel. Because of it's nature, it sort of binds everything together and is the only ingredient that keeps my lasagna layers from all melting into and away from each other.

Also another trick...I like store bought sauce and I just found one that is CHEAP and the perfect consistency for this type of baked pasta. Giada de Laurentiis makes pasta sauce for sale at Target..it has a great tomato tang and is thick. I think it's too thick for spaghetti (I have tried) but I like it for lasagna because it doesn't bake/absorb away into the dish and still provides a nice tomato-y flavor. And at $3 a bottle it's a great value. For one jar for a 7x10" baking dish...I think you may need 1.5 jars for a 9x13" baking dish...


Bechamel Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
1-2 cups milk
salt and pepper

Melt butter in a saucepan. Whisk in flour at medium heat and keep stirring to "cook" the roux a little bit. Add milk in small batches and whisk to incorporate the mixture and work out any flour lumps. Add salt and pepper. Bring to boil, keep whisking and then lower the heat to a simmer. You will need to bring it to a boil to get the sauce to thicken. Remove from heat and set aside.

Lasagna
Noodles (either no cook or parboiled noodle sheets)
1 zuccini grated
1 pound italian sausage (get bulk sausage so you don't have to remove from casings)
Shredded Mozzarella cheese
Ricotta Cheese
1 jar Giada de Laurentiis Tomato Basil Sauce

Preheat oven to 375.

Cook the sausage in a pan and break up into small pieces. When mostly cooked, add the zuccini and sautee until soft. Remove from heat and set aside.

Spread a few tablespoons of sauce onto the bottom of the baking pan. Lay down a layer of noodle sheets. Spread a medium light layer of bechamel sauce over the noodle. Sprinkle a layer of the sausage and zuccini mixture. Spoon on some ricotta cheese...the amount you want to use is up to you and the desired texture you prefer as ricotta can be a little grainy. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese then spoon over tomato sauce until lightly covered. Repeat until the baking pan is full. Sprinkle more mozzarella and parmesean cheese on the top layer.

Bake for about 45 minutes until bubbly. If you think the cheese on top is cooking too fast you can tent with foil for half the cook time. Let cool and rest for about 10-15 minutes before cutting and serving.