Sorta Lasagna

As I’ve said before, lasagna is delicious.  It is also a great deal of work. You have to cook the meat if you are using meat.  Then you have to make the sauce. Then you need to boil the pasta, making sure that it doesn’t stick. When you are assembling the lasagna, in the 3^rd dish, you have to be careful or the pasta tears. Later you have 3 pans to clean. Delicious, but a great deal of work.

I made Stove Top Lasagna earlier, which is indeed easier. Now I’ve made this. I was going to call it Tortellini Bake, but when my husband tasted it he said, “This is sorta like lasagna.” And he was right. 

You could make a vegetarian version of this by omitting meat or you could use ground beef, ground turkey or cubed chicken, instead of sausage. You could also add zucchini, mushrooms, or spinach. Just cook the veggies with the onions. Spinach and mushrooms create moisture.  If you are using them make sure to drain before adding the marinara sauce. I used cheese tortellini, but you could use any type you like.

Servings: 6-8

Hardware:  A cutting board and knives, measuring spoons and cups, a mixing bowl, a large pot, a colander, a very deep skillet (that can be used on top of stove and in the oven), a whisk, a wooden spoon

Time:  Prep:  10 minutes    Cooking: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 16 ounces cheese tortellini  
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 small onion (½ cup)
• 4 cups marinara sauce
• 1-pound spicy Italian sausage
• 1 cup fresh ricotta
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon basil pesto
• 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella
• ½ cup of ground Parmesan

Sorta Lasagna, Wilted Spinach and dinner rolls

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375˚. Peel and dice the garlic. Slice the onion.
2. Cook the tortellini according to package directions.
3. While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in the skillet over medium. Remove the sausage from the casing. Cook and crumble the sausage, garlic and onion until the meat is no longer pink.  (About 7 minutes.)
4. Add the marinara sauce and bring to a simmer.
5. Whisk the ricotta, eggs, pesto and pepper together in the mixing bowl. Set aside.
6. The tortellini should be done. Drain and gently fold them into the sauce. Gently fold the ricotta mixture into the tortellini being careful to not break them up.
7. Sprinkle the top of the Sorta Lasagna with the mozzarella and then the Parmesan.
8. Bake for 35 minutes or until the top is golden and browned around the edges. Remove from the heat and allow the lasagna to sit for 15 minutes. Slice this just like you would an actual lasagna.