Cibare Italian Kitchen at River City Casino & Hotel is located at 777 River City Casino Blvd. Give them a call at
314-388-7777. You can also find them on social media: Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. For more information visit rivercity.com.
Cibare Lasagna Recipe
Lasagna Meat:
• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 2 lbs. bulk Italian sausage
• 1 Tbsp. kosher salt
• 2 tsp. red chili flakes
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 cup red wine
Béchamel:
• 2 tbs. butter
• 2 tbs. flour
• 2 ½ cups whole milk
• 1/8 tsp salt
• Pinch of nutmeg
Lasagna:
• 2 lbs. uncooked lasagna noodles
• 1- 2lbs. tub ricotta cheese (divide into 3 equal portions)
• 3 lbs. shredded mozzarella cheese (divided into 3-1 pound portions)
• 1 ½ cups shredded parmesan cheese
• Large jar of your favorite tomato sauce divided in 2.
1. In a large skillet or pot, brown the Italian sausage and ground beef. When cooked all the way through, drain off fat through a strainer. Return meat back to skillet/pot, and add salt, chili flakes, black pepper and red wine. Simmer until wine evaporates. Divide meat into 3 equal parts. Set aside.
2. In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Add salt to water and add pasta. Cook lasagna noodles until al dente. Drain noodles well. Rinse lasagna noodles in cold water. Drain well and toss with olive oil to coat. Cut 8 noodles the length of the casserole dish. Reserve scraps. Set aside.
3. In a 2 quart sauce pan, melt butter and then whisk in flour. Cook the flour for 1 minute. Add milk and whisk over medium heat until thickened. Season with salt and nutmeg. Set aside to cool.
4. To assemble: in a 13x9 pan casserole dish, add a tablespoon of olive oil and grease bottom and sides of the dish. Lay 4 of the cut lasagna noodles length wise in pan. Overlap the noodles slightly. Pour a 1 ½ cups of your favorite tomato sauce on top of the lasagna noodles. Dollop a 1/3 of the ricotta in a 6x4 grid on top of the tomato sauce. Sprinkle on a 1/3 of the meat mixture in an even layer. Next, add 1 pound of the mozzarella cheese over the meat in an even layer. Add ½ cup of the parmesan cheese over mozzarella.
5. For the second layer, lay lasagna noodles perpendicular to the previous pasta layer (the noodles should crisscross each other). Overlapping slightly, there should be 6 noodles. Use scraps to fill in if there are not enough lasagna noodles to cover layer. Pour béchamel sauce over the pasta. Spread into an even layer. Repeat previous steps with ricotta, meat, mozzarella and parmesan.
6. For the top layer, arrange remaining 4 lasagna noodles lengthwise in the pan (like in step 4). Pour 1 ½ cups of your favorite tomato sauce over pasta. Repeat steps with remaining ricotta, meat, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese.
7. Wrap lasagna tightly with plastic wrap and foil. Place in a 300 degree oven for about 45 minutes. Take out lasagna after 45 minutes and remove foil and plastic wrap. Let lasagna rest for 15 minutes. ENJOY!
