Need A Crowd Pleaser For Your Next Dinner Party? My Recipe For Zesty Lasagna Rolls!

You have 24 guests that will be arriving tomorrow afternoon to celebrate Uncle Joe's birthday. You want to do something more than the usual Costco BBQ pork balls, vegetable tray and pasta salad, but you are short on time and you need to be careful not to break the bank. This is a simple, low cost recipe that will surprise and bedazzle all your guests, including the kids, and you will be hailed hero for making Uncle Joe's day a special one for everyone. I made a vegetarian version last weekend for a dinner party of 40 and they were a smashing hit!

Zesty Italian Sausage Lasagna Rolls

Ingredients:

Lasagna

• 4- 2lb containers of whole milk ricotta cheese


• 9 cups of grated Parmesan cheese


• 8 large eggs, beaten to blend


• 1 tablespoon ground nutmeg


• 2 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt


• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh ground pepper


• 48 uncooked lasagna noodles


• 6 lbs mild or hot Italian sausage


• 14-16 cups of marinara sauce


• 8 cups fresh mozzarella, grated

Marinara Sauce

• 1 cup of extra-virgin olive oil


• 4 large Vidalia onions, finely chopped


• 14 garlic cloves, finely chopped


• 7 celery stalks, finely chopped


• 7 carrots, peeled and finely chopped


• 4 tsp kosher salt


• 4 tsp fresh black pepper


• 1 tsp cayenne pepper


• 4 (32-ounce) cans of crushed tomatoes


• 3 (32-ounce) cans tomato sauce


• 4-6 dried bay leaves


• 4 sprigs of fresh thyme

Directions:

Start with the sauce. Chop all your onion, garlic, celery and carrots and place in prep bowl. In a large stock pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, celery and carrots and cook until fragrant and onions are translucent, about 10-15 minutes. Add kosher salt, pepper, cayenne, bay leaves and thyme, cook for 1-2 minutes to release their aromatic oils. Add crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce, stir thoroughly. Bring to a gently boil. Reduce heat and simmer on low for 1 hour. Taste and re season if necessary. The sauce can be made a day ahead.

Next, brown the sausage in a large skillet. You may have to do in 2 lb batches. Otherwise you will end up steaming the meat instead of browning. I like to season my meat with pepper and garlic powder, but you don't have to since we will be adding some of the marinara sauce to lightly coat it for assembly. Use slotted spoon to drain the sausage as each batch finished browning and hold in a separate medium bowl.

While the sausage is browning you can combine your five-minute ricotta filling. In a large stainless steal bowl, combine ricotta cheese, grated Parmesan, eggs, salt, pepper, nutmeg. Make sure it is thoroughly mixed. Cover and place in fridge until ready to assemble. This can be done a day ahead.

Once the sauce is ready and the sausage is browned. Add 2-4 cups of sauce to the sausage in the bowl and mix in just to coat. This will add more flavor to the lasagna and make it easier to assemble.

For the noodles, bring water to a boil in large stockpot. Salt generously to season noodles. Add noodles in batches so they do not stick, about 12 at a time. Cook until al dente where they have a little firmness to them, but mostly done. Your box should have directions to do this.

When noodles are done, drain and rinse with cold water to stop them from cooking. Add a little olive oil and toss. Lay them flat on a cookie sheet to keep from sticking. Repeat until all noodles are done.

Now for assembly. In 10 x 15 casserole dishes, spread a little sauce over the bottom. Spread 2-3 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture over the flat noodles. Add 2-3 tablespoons of the meat mixture on top of the ricotta down the middle of each noodle to prevent meat mixture from coming out the sides so much. Carefully roll up each noodle into a nice compact roll with seam side down. Place in casserole dish. Repeat until dish is filled, about 15 lasagna rolls. Ladle sauce evenly over each row of lasagna rolls and top with mozzarella. Repeat for each dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and bubbly. Serve with fresh dinner salad and seasoned garlic bread.

Tips:

You can replace the sausage with ground beef to get a more beefy lasagna, but make sure you season your beef well before browning. I like to use salt, pepper, garlic powder and a pinch of cayenne powder.