Time For A Traditional Italian Lasagna Dish – Thanks To A Chef’s Mom!
There is nothing better in cold winter months than a comforting meal that is full of flavor – so it’s time for a homemade Lasagna, thanks to Gloria Tramonto, Mother to an acclaimed Chicago Chef!
In 2006, acclaimed chef Rick Tramonto opened Osteria di Tramonto on Chicago’s north shore. While that restaurant is no longer open, I bought the cookbook and wanted to share a dish that was from his Mom!
Gloria’s Lasagna!
As he writes in his cookbook: “Because my mom made a big pan of this lasagna at least once a week when I was growing up, it’s near and dear to my hear….as down-to-earth and satisfying a dish as you will ever find.”
Here are all of the ingredients you will need – and yes, those are “oven-ready lasagne” noodles…more on those, but first, let’s make the filling:
1 tbl olive oil
1/2 large yellow onion diced
2 tbl minced garlic – I use much more!
1 lb spicy Italian sausage
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cups white wine – drink a glass while cooking!
2 14-ox. cans plum tomatoes
1 tbl ground fennel seeds
2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbl fresh basil
1 tsp chopped oregano
1 lb ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1 – 1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
lasagna sheets
Heat the oil in a large sauce pan and cook your onion and garlic.
Once that has been in the pot for ten minutes cooking in olive oil, it’s time to bring out the big guns:
I used regular Italian sausage but Chef likes spicy – and of course ground beef…cooking for 10-12 minutes until cooked through…
Once cooked, use a slotted spoon to remove the meat, but leave the oil in the pan because you are about to use it again!
Here are the ingredients for the sauce as noted above…
Using that leftover oil and bits of remaining meat in the pan, add the wine and stir to loosen anything stuck to the bottom for about two minutes, then add the canned tomatoes:
Follow it up with your seasonings and spices and cook for a few minutes, before adding the meat mixture back in and cooking for 15 minutes….your meat sauce filling is ready to go…
Now, time to make the cheesy spread that brings all of the ingredients together: mix the ricotta with the egg and a half cup of the cheese…
Here is the final assembly before baking, and for the sake of fun, I included a bit of my banter with Alex as she questioned my use of those “oven ready” noodles – enjoy!
Again, a layer of sauce on the bottom, then your lasagna sheets, then the ricotta spread and then meat sauce, shredded cheese and another layer of noodles.
Here’s your before and after 30 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees:
And here is what happened after the Lasagna was baked:
Dig In!
As you can see, Gloria’s Lasagna came out of the dish perfectly – you can see the layers of noodle and meat – and notice that the noodles are very plump, so the par-boiled ones work for me!
As you can see, the dish is plenty for 4 or more people, or great for leftovers too!
Lasana is a favorite for many – and has spawned a really cool trend!
Behold “Vertical Lasagna!”
Yes it’s sold in New York – and here’s a closeup look at this unique preparation:
People love Lasagna so much they are even making “marry me” versions!
Click here for that story!
I enjoy trying new dishes – and in this case I made a recipe from a French cookbook that was all in that language!
How did I do fumbling my way through a language I try to speak but really can’t?
Click here to find out!
I also wanted to celebrate creole cooking from New Orleans once, and thanks to a legendary restaurant, I did!
Commander’s Palace had an incredible recipe – click here to see how I did!
I also have tried to cook food from parts of the world I’ve never visited – like Macau:
Do you want to know what makes a Macau Meatloaf a Macau Meatloaf?
Click here for the answer:
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Categories: Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Chef memoirs, Cookbooks, Eat This!, Food, Food Writing, Recipes, Wacky Food, World's Wildest Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
Well done. It looks deliciuos! Lasagna is hubby’s favourite. I’ve taken to using the oven ready lasagna noodles as well and it turns out great. I noticed you over lapped the noodles which I think I’ll do in the future. (I tend to painstakingly cut/break them to fit). I loved listening to your banter.
Thanks for the comment! Agree on oven ready as the flavor is all the other goodness on the noodle!
I looooooove lasagna!!
Beautiful lasagne! It looks really yummy, I can almost smell the sauce. Love how thick those noodles are!
We love lasagna but we don’t put the Italian sausage in it as it is hard to find over here. So just the ground beef, but it is still very tasty.
Best wishes, Pete.
Ooo now you have me craving lasagna! Will have to make one tjis week
I love lasagna…delciious on day one and even better as a leftover the next day or two!
Very true
What a great post! I love lasagna, but now I’m looking in to Frenchie!!! Thanks!
The best part about making lasagna is that it’s a great dish no matter what recipe you use – thanks for sharing!