Cheesy Short Rib and Sausage Lasagna Soup

By Paul Briand

Here’s another find via Flipboard, a well-used news and information app on my iPhone.

I’m a big fan of lasagna and have a few recipes here:
Mexican Lasagna
Skillet Lasagna
Unbelievable Lasagna
White House Turkey Lasagna with Spinach
Taco Lasagna

That said, I’m not a big soup guy, but the idea of lasagna as soup was intriguing.

So I followed the Flipboard link and found this recipe at SeriousEats.com.

It’s a little work intensive, given the need to cook down the pork, but it’s as hearty as you might imagine it would be and very tasty.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound boneless short ribs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound hot or sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
3 medium cloves of garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
6 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning mix
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs fresh thyme
8 ounces dried ditalini or small fusilli pasta
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded Asiago cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (About 5 ounces)
1 teaspoon grated zest from 1 lemon

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees, adjusting rack to accommodate your Dutch oven;
2. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large, oven-safe stockpot or Dutch oven;
3. Generously season short ribs with salt and pepper;
4. When oil is shimmering, brown short ribs on all sides until golden brown, about 6 minutes total. Remove meat and transfer to a platter;
5. Add Italian sausage and brown, breaking up into little bits, until nearly cooked through, about 6 minutes;
6. Add onions, bell pepper and garlic to pan and sauté, stirring periodically, until softened, 6 to 7 minutes;
7. Return short ribs to pan. Add wine, tomatoes, chicken stock, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, bay leaves and thyme. Season with about 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover and transfer to oven to cook until meat is fork tender, about 2 1/2 hours;
8. Remove from oven and transfer pot to stovetop. Shred short ribs using two forks. Remove and discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs;
9. Return to a boil over medium-high heat. Add pasta and cook according to package directions until still slightly firm;
10. Combine ricotta, Parmesan, Asiago, mozzarella, and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste;
11. Remove soup from heat. Taste and adjust seasoning, if needed. Spoon into individual bowls, top with a generous dollop of cheese mixture and serve immediately.

Click here for recipe card.

White House Turkey Lasagna with Spinach

By Paul Briand

Who wouldn’t want to eat like the president and his family at the White House?

But we’re not talking the lavishness of an official State Dinner here.

We’re talking about a healthy dinner dish prepared for President Barack Obama and his family by White House Chef Sam Kass.

Kass was on NBC’s “Today Show” a few weeks ago to talk about and demonstrate this recipe for White House Turkey Lasagna with Spinach.

It was a hit in our not-the-White House, as dinner one night with family and as leftovers.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup chopped yellow onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound fresh ground turkey

1 (28-ounce) can plum tomatoes, crushed

1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

16 cooked whole-wheat lasagna noodles

15 ounces low-fat ricotta or low-fat cottage cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 large egg, beaten

2 cups fresh spinach, washed, but not dried

1 pound low-fat shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh or dried flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh or dried basil

Directions

1 .Preheat oven to 400 degrees;

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until translucent;

3. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute more;

4. Add ground turkey and cook for about 10 minutes;

5. Add damp spinach, stir until wilted;

6. Add plum tomatoes, tomato paste, and season with salt and pepper; let simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes;

7. Stir in basil and parsley; set aside;

8. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and egg; season with salt and pepper and set aside;

9. Ladle one-quarter of the turkey mixture into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish; spread to cover;

10. Add 1/4 of lasagna noodles, one-third of the mozzarella, one-third of the ricotta mixture;

11. Repeat process two more times; top with remaining lasagna noodles;

12. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan over top; transfer to oven and bake until bubbly, 25 to 30 minutes;

13. Let stand about 5 minutes before cutting; serve.

Click here for recipe card.

Taco Lasagna

By Paul Briand

Here's a simple fusion recipe for you: The taste of tacos fused with the heartiness of lasagna.

Getting this lasagna onto the table first requires the assembling of a variety of ingredients from the market and deciding what garnishes you want to add to the dish.

Ingredients
1 pound of ground beef
1 package of taco seasoning mix
1 bottle of beer (or a cup of water)
4 soft tortillas that fit into a 9-inch pie plate
Fresh mozzarella cheese, about 8 ounces
1 package of shredded cheddar cheese
Salsa

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees;
2. In a skillet heated to medium high cook the ground beef, add taco seasoning mix and beer (or water) and continue to stir until the mixture starts to bind up. Remove from heat and set aside;
3. Place a tortilla into ungreased glass or metal pie plate;
4. Layer in one third of the meat mixture, strips of mozzarella cheese, and a third of the cheddar;
5. Add another tortilla and another layer of meat, mozzarella and cheddar;
6. Add third tortilla and another layer of meat and cheese;
7. Top with last tortilla;
8. Bake for about 15 minutes;
9. Remove and top with your favorite garnishes.

The lasagna yields six pie-like slices. My choice of garnishes included guacamole, salsa, and jalapeno peppers. Other choices could include black olives, more cheddar cheese, sour cream, and nacho cheese sauce.

Skillet Lasagna

By Paul Briand

In keeping with last week's theme, I was looking again at leftover ingredients that I should try to use up. Last week it was horseradish; this week's it was lasagna noodles.

The noodles were leftover from the Unbelievable Lasagna recipe posted March 18.

And I just happened upon a recipe for this Skillet Lasagna in my Shaw's supermarket. It is much more simple than the oven-baked lasagna -- it takes less than an hour from start to finish -- and it's equally as tasty.

Ingredients
28-ounce can of diced tomatoes
Tablespoon of olive oil
Medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pound of ground beef
10 lasagna noodles, broken into two-inch strips
8-ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
Black pepper, salt
1 cup Ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons chopped basil

Directions
1. Pour tomatoes with their juices into 1-quart measuring cup, add water so that mixture equals 1 quart (I used equal parts water and red wine for this);
2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat and cook onion until it begins to brown;
3. Add salt, pepper flakes and garlic;
4. Add ground beef, break apart and cook through until no longer pink, distribute evenly over bottom of skillet;
5. Add the lasagna noodle strips over the meat, but do not stir;
6. Pour diced tomatoes, juices and water, plus the tomato sauce over pasta. Do not stir. Cover and bring to simmer;
7. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stir occasionally until pasta is tender, about 20 minutes;
8. Remove skillet from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of Parmesan;
9. Season with salt and pepper;
10. Dot with dollops of Ricotta, cover and let stand for five minutes;
11. Sprinkle with basil and remaining two tablespoons of Parmesan.

Serves four to six.