Carnival Lasagne (Naples)

Pasta

Ingredients

Lasagne noodles - 1 pound

Salt

Italian pork sausages - 1/2 pound

Neopolitan Meat sauce - 3 1/2 - 4 cups

Butter

Ricotta or cottage cheese - 2 cups

Grated parmesan cheese - 1 2/3 cups

Eggs - 2

Salt and pepper

Mozzarella cheese, sliced - 1/2 pound

Cook the lasagne noodles in a large pan of salted water, a few pieces at a time and when tender but still firm, drain them and spread them out to dry on a damp cloth.

Prick the sausages and fry them without any additional fat until brown. Add 2 or 3 tbsps water and continue cooking for 15 minutes. Take the sausages from the pan, skin them and crumble the meat.

Heat the sauce with 2 tbsps butter.

Beat the ricotta in a bowl with half the parmesan cheese, 2 eggs, a pinch of salt and a little pepper. Spread a little of this mixture over all but 4 or 5 pieces of lasagne.

Grease a baking dish, approximately 12 x 14 inches in diameter, with butter and line the bottom with the ricotta spread lasagne. Cover with a thin layer of sausage, a few slices of mozzarella, a few tbsps of the sauce and a generous sprinkling of parmesan cheese. Continue until all these ingredients are used up, reserving a few tbsps of sauce, the last layer being of plain lasagne. Spread with the remaining sauce and dot with slivers of butter. Bake in a moderate oven (375F) for 45 minutes. Serve the lasagne very hot in the same dish.

Serves 6