Holiday Meatball Lasagna

Make Ahead: The sauce can be prepared up to 2 days ahead, cooled, covered, and refrigerated; the lasagna can be prepared up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated. Both can be frozen for up to 1 month.
- SAUCE AND MEATBALLS
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup dry red wine
- One 28-ounce can tomatoes with added thick puree
- Two 6-ounce cans tomato paste
- One 8-ounce can tomato sauce
- 1½ teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes
- 1 pound ground round
- 1 pound ground pork
- ½ cup Italian-seasoned dried bread crumbs
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound lasagna noodles
- One 32-ounce container ricotta cheese
- 1½ cups (about 6 ounces) freshly grated
- Parmesan cheese
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil or parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1½ pounds mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
Instructions:
For Italian-American families, pasta must be a part of the
Thanksgiving menu, and usually lasagna plays just as big a starring role as turkey. Here, the meat for the sauce is rolled into little meatballs to make the dish extra special. It’s a simple process, and you don’t have to brown the meatballs.
- In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Stir in the tomatoes with their puree, 1 cup water, the tomato paste, tomato sauce, basil, oregano, and hot red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, mix the ground round, ground pork, bread crumbs, eggs, salt, and pepper. Using about ½ teaspoons for each, roll the mixture into small meatballs and place on a wax paper–lined baking sheet.
- A few at a time, gently stir the meatballs into the simmering sauce. Return to the simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened and the meatballs show no sign of pink when pierced in the center, about 20 minutes. Set the sauce aside. (The sauce can be prepared up to 2 days ahead, cooled, covered, and refrigerated, or frozen in airtight containers for up to 1 month.)
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the lasagna noodles, 2 or 3 at a time, and stir well. Boil, stirring occasionally to be sure the noodles don’t stick to each other, just until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water. (The noodles can be prepared up to 2 hours ahead, tossed with 1 tablespoon olive oil, and stored at room temperature.)
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly oil a 10 × 15-inch baking dish. In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta, 1 cup of the Parmesan, the eggs, basil, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
- Using a large skimmer or slotted spoon, transfer the meatballs to a large bowl. Coat the bottom of the prepared dish with ¼ cup of the tomato sauce. Arrange 5 lasagna noodles (4 horizontally and 1 vertically), slightly overlapping and cut to fit, in the dish. Spread half of the ricotta filling over the noodles. Cover with half of the mozzarella slices. Scatter half of the meatballs over the cheese, then top with one-third of the remaining tomato sauce. Arrange another 5 noodles in the dish. Cover with the remaining ricotta filling, remaining mozzarella, remaining meatballs, then half of the remaining sauce. Top with the remaining noodles, and spread with the remaining tomato sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup Parmesan. Cover with aluminum foil. (The lasagna can be prepared up to 1 day ahead, cooled, covered, and refrigerated, or frozen, wrapped airtight, for up to 1 month.)
- Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until bubbling throughout, about 30 minutes more. (If baking frozen lasagna, increase the initial baking time to 45 minutes, then uncover and bake for about 30 more minutes.) Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.