Bison Lasagna

Who doesn’t love a hearty and meaty lasagna? We used our certified grassfed bison and added a few ingredients (fresh spinach and more ricotta!) in this classic lasagna recipe from Simply Recipes. Buon appetito!

Ingredients

• Extra virgin olive oil
• 2 lbs ground Bison du Nord grassfed bison
• 1/2 onion, diced (about 3/4 cup)
• 1/2 large bell pepper (green, red, or yellow), diced (about 3/4 cup)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can (28 oz) tomato sauce
• 1/2 can (3 oz) tomato paste
• 1 can (14 oz) crushed tomatoes
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano (or 2 tsp dried oregano)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (preferably flat leaf), packed
• 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
• 1 1/2 bag baby spinach
• Salt and pepper (to taste)
• 9 lasagna noodles, unbroken
• 1 tub (454 g) Ricotta cheese
• 1 1/2 lb (24 ounces) Thornloe Cheese mozzarella, grated or sliced
• 1/4 lb (4 oz) freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Cooking directions

1. Boil a large pot of salted water.
2. In a large skillet heat 2 tsp of olive oil on medium high heat. Add the ground bison and cook until it is lightly browned. Remove meat from skillet and keep warm.
3. Add the diced bell pepper and onions to skillet. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent and the peppers softened. Add the minced garlic and cook half a minute more.
4. Return browned ground bison to the pan. Stir to combine, reduce the heat to low and cook for another 5 minutes.
5. Transfer the bison meat mixture to a medium sized pot. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste to the pot.
6. Add the parsley and oregano and salt and pepper to taste.
7. Bring the mixture to a simmer and then lower the heat to maintain a low simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat.
8. Add dry lasagna noodles to boiling pot of water and cook them to al dente, per package directions. When ready, drain and rinse with cool water, gently separating any noodles that may be sticking together.
9. Heat the oven to 375°F.
10. In a 9×13-inch casserole or lasagna dish, ladle a cup of bison meat mixture and spread it over the bottom of the dish. Arrange one layer of lasagna noodles lengthwise (about 3 long noodles) over the mixture. Ladle a third of the remaining mixture over the noodles.
11. Sprinkle a layer of a third of the grated mozzarella on top of mixture. Add half of the ricotta cheese, by placing cheese dollops every couple inches. Sprinkle half the grated parmesan cheese evenly over the top of ricotta cheese.
12. Apply second layer of noodles, top it with half of the remaining mixture. Add half of the remaining mozzarella, the remaining ricotta cheese, and the remaining parmesan.
13. Finish with another layer of noodles. Spread the remaining mixture over the top layer of noodles and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
14. Bake covered at 375°F for 45 minutes. Uncover in the last 10 minutes if you’d like more of a crusty top or edges.
15. Cool and serve!

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