Uncle Vito’s Stuffed Lasagna
Who is Uncle Vito? I have no idea. A close friend of mine who grew up in a culture rich in Italian cooking traditions near Buffalo, New York, made this lasagna for my family many moons ago. It was the first lasagna I ever ate made with ricotta cheese – a culinary epiphany. It was also the first lasagna I ever ate stuffed with pieces of sweet and spicy Italian sausage, in addition to using a traditional meat sauce. As I took the first bite of hot, bubbly, cheesy, creamy goodness, the noodles perfectly al denté unmistakably flavored with fennel, my eyes rolled to the back of my head, and I swore to never buy another carton of cottage cheese. Cindy named her dish Uncle Vito’s Stuffed Lasagna. Whether or not Uncle Vito ever existed, I’m not sure, but I have no doubt there is a candle lit for him at the basilica in Buffalo.
While well made homemade lasagna isn’t difficult to prepare, it is a labor of love. So, I made a pan last night to have ready for my son, who arrives from Florida Thursday, because I love him and he needs to be fattened up. Really, I’m hoping he is so overwhelmed with dinner that he forgets he left 80° temperatures to visit his mother in 30° Billings, and comes to visit again.
I’ve got lots of pictures, but don’t let the steps fool you. This is easy – so very yummy!
Simple Italian Meat Sauce cooks up quickly for a pasta dinner or to save as the base for a nice pan of lasagna. This sauce uses butter and a little milk, so it’s sort of like a bolognese, but only takes 45-60 minutes.
Tomatoes, lovely tomatoes! My poor little garden pumped out some amazing tomatoes this summer. In fact, there are still some on the vine. It’s getting cooler here in Billings, but I’m hoping the lovely red fruits will survive another few weeks.
There weren’t enough of the tomatoes I picked to can large batches of sauce, which is the way I planned it. I didn’t want the job to be so overwhelming that I wouldn’t look forward to the same thing next year. Also, I didn’t blanch the tomatoes to peel off the tomato skins. I just used a paring knife and skinned them that way. Wouldn’t recommend this method for a large canning batch, but it was easier than waiting for a large pot of water to boil, finding a large bowl for ice water, and all of that. For the amount of tomatoes I used, probably took me as long as blanching.
I’m in love with Italian food. Isn’t everyone? So many dishes are creamy, rich and very satisfying. They’re easy to prepare and fun to make, unpretentious – something to please everyone. And Italian food is inexpensive and serves plenty. Besides, I have two tomato plants in my garden with lots of ripening fruit. So, I made a couple of batches of marinara sauce Saturday. And I made the sauce expressly with this recipe in mind.
