Killer Lasagne

Preparation Time: Half a day!

Yield: 12 small, 9 generous or 6 humongous servings

OK. I admit this is an all-day project that is more fun if you involve a friend and a bottle of wine.

You can cheat and use regular packaged lasagna noodles, but trust me, it's ten times better if you make your own.

Pasta:

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

2 beaten eggs

2 tablespoons white wine

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons peanut oil

Work this mixture with your hands until it's consistent and then kneed with your hands for 10 minutes.

Let it stand for 1 hour covered in a greased bowl.

Prepare Meat Sauce for Pasta.

Saute small package of mushrooms in butter and white wine.

Roll the dough after 1 hour, stretching it paper thin until you can see the countertop through the dough when you're done. Flour it well to keep it from sticking as you roll it.

Cut the dough into 2 inch stips and let it dry for another 30 minutes. Afficionadoes use a laundry rack to hang it.

Drop the pasta slowly into a large pot of boiling water seasoned with Olive Oil. Cook for 5 min or so, testing for doneness. It should be chewey but with no flour taste.

Butter a large baking pan - 10x14"

Cover bottom with generous layer of meat sauce.

Lay down layer of pasta

Cover with Sauce and layer of mushrooms.

Add another layer of pasta.

Cover with small container of cottage cheese and small package of crumbled mozzarella cheese.

Add another layer of pasta.

Cover with rest of meat sauce and sprinkle with dried mozzarella cheese.

The cardinal lasagna sin is putting a layer of pasta on top so that it dries into a tooth-crushing layer of dried pasta. Cover it well with sauce.

Bake for 40 min in 350 F oven, covered with aluminium foil and on baking pan to catch spills.

Freezes well and reheats in 90 min in the toaster oven from frozen. Serve with baked potato or garden salad.

© WRinehart2005 All rights reserved.

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