Slow Cooker_ The Best Cookbook Ever - Diane Phillips [36]
cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours, until the lasagna is cooked through and bubbling. Remove the cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
serve from the cooker set on warm.
serves 8
Penne Lasagna
This decadent lasagna is similar to a “Timpano,” the extravagant layered dish that was featured in the Stanley Tucci classic film Big Night. Although a timpano is usually encased in dough, this entrée has layers of pasta, meatballs, cheese, hard- boiled eggs, mushrooms, and sausage in a creamy red-pepper-and-vodka tomato sauce. In Calabria, cooks empty their refrigerators and pantries of food they won’t be able to eat during Lent and pile them into layered pasta dishes such as this one.
5 cups Vodka Cream Sauce (recipe follows)
1 pound penne, cooked 2 minutes short of al dente
4 cooked meatballs, quartered (next page)
4 hard-cooked eggs, sliced ½ inch thick (next page)
½ cup jarred roasted red peppers, cut into strips
4 links cooked Italian sweet sausage (see next page), cut into ½-inch rounds
8 ounces button mushrooms, sautéed (see next page) until the liquid in the pan evaporates
½ pound fresh mozzarella, cut into
½-inch cubes
1 cup freshly grated pecorino romano cheese
coat the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray or line it with a slow-cooker liner according to the manufacturer’s directions.
put 1½ cups of the vodka cream sauce and the penne in a large bowl and stir to coat.
spread one-third of the pasta on the bottom of the slowcooker insert. Top the pasta with a layer of the meatballs, hard-cooked eggs, and roasted peppers. Top with half of the remaining pasta, followed by a layer of the remaining sausage, the mushrooms, and mozzarella. Top with the remaining pasta.
spoon the remaining sauce evenly over the top of the lasagna and top with the grated cheese.
cover the cooker and cook on low heat for 4 to 5 hours, until the lasagna is bubbling and is cooked through.
remove the cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
serve the lasagna from the cooker set on warm.
serves 12
VODKA CREAM SAUCE
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup vodka
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
One 28- to 32-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil noodles
soak the pepper flakes in the vodka for 1 hour.
strain the vodka through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium saucepan, discarding the pepper flakes. Over high heat, bring the vodka to a boil and reduce to ¼ cup.
add the butter, tomatoes, cream, parsley, and basil. Bring the sauce to a boil, stirring to combine.
makes about 5 cups
MEATBALLS
1¼ pounds ground beef
½ cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
½ cup soft bread crumbs
1 large egg, beaten
Olive oil for frying
combine the beef, onion, garlic, lemon zest, salt, pepper, parsley, bread crumbs, and egg in a large bowl until blended. Form the mixture into small balls and set on a plate or baking sheet. At this point, you can cover and refrigerate the meatballs for up to 2 days.
heat ½ inch of oil in a large skillet until a piece of bread dropped in it begins to float and bubble. Add the meatballs a few at a time, being careful not to crowd them, and fry until browned on all sides and cooked through. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove the meatballs from the pan and drain on paper towels.
repeat with the remaining meatballs until they are all cooked. Cooked meatballs may be cooled