Green Lasagna with Two Sauces
(Lasagna Verdi al Forno)

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

Meat Sauce

• 8 ounces bulk Italian sausage, crumbled
• 4 ounces smoked sliced chicken or turkey, finely chopped
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium stalk celery, minced
• 1 medium carrot, finely shredded
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 3/4 cup dry red wine
• 1/3 cup tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• Dash of ground nutmeg

Green Noodles

• 8 ounces fresh spinach or 1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach, cooked as per package directions
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 1/2 quarts water
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Cheese Filling

• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup snipped parsley

Creamy Sauce

• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Dash of ground nutmeg
• 3 cups milk

Instructions

Meat Sauce

1. Cook and stir sausage until light brown; drain. Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, 1 hour.

Green Noodles

1. Remove root ends and imperfect leaves from spinach. Wash several times in water, lifting out each time; drain. Cover and cook with just the water that clings to leaves until tender, 3 to 10 minutes. Rinse spinach with cold water; drain.
2. Place spinach, eggs, 1 tablespoon oil and 1 teaspoon salt in blender container. Cover and blend until pureed, about 20 seconds.
3. Make a well in center of flour. Add spinach mixture; stir with fork until mixed. Sprinkle with a few drops water if dry; mix in small amount of flour if sticky. Gather dough into a ball. Knead on lightly floured cloth covered board until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes.
4. Divide dough into halves. Roll one half into a 13 x 12 inch rectangle; cut rectangle into 6 (13 x 2 inch) strips.
5. Repeat with remaining dough. Spread strips on rack; let stand 30 minutes.
6. Heat water to rapid boil; stir in 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon oil and the noodles. Cook uncovered over medium heat until nearly tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
7. Drain; rinse with cold water. Place in single layer between sheets of wax paper.

Cheese Filling

1. Toss all ingredients together.

Creamy Sauce

1. Heat butter over low heat until melted. Blend in flour, salt and nutmeg. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for 1 minute; cover and keep warm. If sauce thickens, beat in small amount of milk. Sauce should be the consistency of heavy cream.