Poetic license and lasagna

I made this lasagna almost two weeks ago but Chris was so enamored, so awestruck by this cheesy, sausagey fantasmagasm that he forbid me from blogging about it until he could come up with a suitable ode. Specifically, a haiku. A haiku for a pasta dish. We either sound like the most boring people on the face of the earth ("Hey, guys! Let's watch slides of our trip to Scranton!") or the most awesome ("You know that 'salted caramel' thing? I invented that. And then I put it in chocolate. And added booze.")(Or maybe that imaginary person would only be cool to me.).

I give you, "Lasagna"*

Unbridled pasta
Sausage, cheese, and love combined
Please me to no end

* I know. That's the best title he could come up with. But I like the simplicity. It doesn't over-hype it. Like that whole first paragraph I wrote up there did.  

Don't let my poor food styling deter you from making this awesome lasagna.

Smoked Mozzarella and Italian Sausage Lasagna
Adapted from epicurious

For Sauce

• olive oil
• 1 pound Italian sweet sausages, casings removed
• 2 ounces sliced prosciutto, chopped

• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
• 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 cup red wine
•  28-ounces of canned tomatoes ( I used 2 cans of diced tomatoes and the sauce was nice and chunky)

For Lasagna

• About 12 no-bake lasagna noodles
• 1 15-ounce container of whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 2 cups (packed) shredded smoked mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup grated asiago

Directions:

1. Heat a good glug of olive oil in dutch oven (or large,  heavy-bottomed skillet) over medium high. Brown sausage, breaking it up as you go. When sausage is just about done, add prosciutto  and continue cooking for a few minutes. Remove meat to paper towel-lined plate or bowl.
2. Add another glug of oil to pan and saute onions, celery and garlic. When softened, add herbs and red pepper. When vegetables are brown and translucent, stir in tomato paste and then deglaze pan with wine. When wine is just about absorbed, add tomatoes and sausage mixture. Stir and season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking another 15-20 minutes or until flavors are well combined. 
3. Combine ricotta and 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella. Season with salt and pepper. 
4. Preheat oven to 350. Oil a 13x9 inch pan and begin layering lasagna. Spread 1 cup of sauce evenly over bottom and top with three noodles. Spread about 3/4 cup of cheese mixture over noodles and pour over 1 1/2 cups of sauce. Repeat two more times. End with three noodles sprinkled with remaining mozzarella and asiago. Cover tightly with foil and bake about 30 minutes or until nice and bubbly. Remove foil and continue baking another 15 minutes so that the top browns a bit. Remove from oven and let rest for about 10 minutes before serving.