Lasagna With Basil and Fennel
By: Anonymous
Published: Tuesday, December 8, 2009 - 11:02pm

Ingredients




1 pound mozzarella cheese grated
1 ct ricotta cheese - (15 oz)
1 lrg egg
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
2 pkt spaghetti sauce seasoning with
ounce mushroom flavors - (1.5  ea)
1 can crushed tomatoes with added puree (28 oz)
1 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
Freshly-ground balck pepper to taste
9 no-boil lasagna noodles - (from 8-oz pkg)
2 cups fresh basil leaves - (packed)

Preparation

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix 1 cup mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, egg and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese in medium bowl. Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and fennel seeds; saute 5 minutes. Add beef; saute 10 minutes, breaking up meat with fork. Mix in seasoning, then tomatoes, broth and wine. Cover and simmer 8 minutes. Season sauce to taste with pepper. 2 Spoon 1 1/3 cups sauce over bottom of 13- by 9- by 2-inch glass baking dish. Place 3 noodles over sauce. Drop half of ricotta cheese mixture by tablespoonfuls evenly over. Top with half of basil leaves, 1 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. 3 Continue layering with 3 noodles, 2 cups sauce, remaining ricotta cheese mixture, remaining basil, 1 cup mozzarella cheese and remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Finish with 3 noodles, 2 cups sauce and remaining mozzarella cheese (reserve remaining sauce for another use). Cover with foil; place on baking sheet. 4 Bake lasagna until heated through, about 1 hour. Uncover; let stand 15 minutes. Cut lasagna into squares. 5 This recipe yields 8 servings. 6 Comments: No-boil noodles cut down on the prep time.