Seven Cheese Lasagna

Seven Cheese Lasagna

1 large container of ricotta cheese
2 cups of asiago cheese
1 cup of parmiagiano reggiano
1 cup of romano cheese
1 cup of gruyere or swiss cheese
1 cup of domestic parmesan cheese
6 whole eggs
2 cups of mozzarella, shredded
Mozzarella slices
Italian breadcrumbs
2 cups of béchamel sauce

Preheat oven to 350F

Prepare lasagna pan:
Spread the pan liberally with butter flavored Crisco

Prepare the lasagna noodles:

Boil salted water and cook noodles al dente.  Shock the noodles with cold water immediately and leave in cold water until preparation time.  (I wipe moisture off my noodles before placing them in lasagna.)

Bechamel Sauce:
½ stick of butter
3 or 4 tbl. of sifted flour
1 pint of heavy cream
Salt and freshly grated nutmeg

In a sauté pan, melt butter over very slow heat.  Add flour and stir with a wooden spoon until the flour thickens.  This mixture is called a roux.  Slowly add cream or half and half.  Season with salt and freshly grated nutmeg to taste.  Allow sauce to cool before applying to the lasagna.

Ricotta Filling:

Place the ricotta in a deep bowl.  Add whole eggs, one at a time, beating with a wooden spoon.  Add all the cheeses separately except the mozzarella slices.  Add ½ cup of flavored breadcrumbs to thicken the mixture.  Cool in fridge until assembly time.

Assembling the lasagna:
Take prepared lasagna dish.  Layer bottom of the dish with pasta slices.  Add a layer of the ricotta filling.  Pour 1/3 of the béchamel sauce over the ricotta filling.  Repeat procedure until lasagna is finished.  Top the final layer of lasagna with the mozzarella slices.  Bake for 30 minutes or until lasagna is golden and bubbling with cheese.

The original recipe I used to construct this one is from my buddy, Bert Pearce, of Virginia.