Preparation / Directions:
* May also use creamy tomato sauce with either pate or sausage.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 9x12 baking dish with 1 tablespoon of softened butter. Bring 4 quarts of water and 3 tablespoons of salt to a boil. Add the lasagna and cook until al dente. Drain pasta in a colander and rinse with cold water until cool enough to handle. Carefully remove enough pieces of lasagna to make a single layer in the bottom of a pan and dry these pieces on a paper towel so there is no excess moisture. Cover the pan with the pieces. Spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce over the pasta layer, then sprinkle approximately 1/3 of the Fontina cheese over the sauce. Place another layer of pasta over the cheese. Cover this layer with 1 1/2 cups of the meat sauce and cover sauce with half of the remaining cheese. Then make a third and final layer in the same order - pasta, meat sauce and cheese.
Bake the lasagna, uncovered, for 45 minutes. REmove it from the oven and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before serving. This allows for the flavors to settle. You can cook this dish in advance - the day before is best. If you do make it in advance, reheat it covered with aluminum foil in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
The mild, sweet, full-bodied flavor of Fontina cheese gives this dish a spectacular taste. If Fontina is not available, mozzarella can be substituted - but its wild flavor must be boosted with 1 cup grated parmesan sprinkled evenly over each layer .
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