RECIPE: Chef shows love of Georgia in his lasagna
Chase Todaro is a longtime Atlanta chef who has worked at Rathbun’s and Restaurant Eugene. Currently, he is the chef-owner of Blink Catering service.
During the pandemic, he partnered with Lasagna Love, a nonprofit that tasks volunteers with baking lasagnas for families in need.
“My friend’s mom does a lot of volunteer work, and she reached out to me and gave me the challenge of coming up with a Georgia-inspired lasagna, and she wanted peaches to be in it,” Todaro said.
Besides Georgia peaches, his recipe features other local ingredients, including boiled peanuts.
It’s a bit of a turn on the usual lasagna, Todaro said. “The peaches really come out when you add the peanuts to the sauce.”
- For the short ribs:
- 2 pounds bone-in short ribs
- ½ head of celery, sliced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 carrot, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 cup red wine
- 2 cups Coca-Cola
- 5 peaches, peeled and sliced
- 4 cups chicken stock
- flour for dredging
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- For the meat sauce:
- 1 36-ounce jar of your favorite tomato sauce
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup of the shredded short ribs
- 2 cups of basil leaves
- 1 cup of shelled boiled peanuts
- 4 peaches, pitted and chopped
- 5 cloves of garlic, minced
- Dredge the short ribs in flour, place in a large pan with the vegetable oil, and sear until evenly browned on all sides.
- Remove the short ribs and reduce the heat to medium. Add the celery, carrot, onion and garlic, and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add red wine to deglaze the pan.
- Return the short ribs to the pan and add the Coca-Cola, peaches and chicken stock.
- Bring to a boil, then cover the pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 2½ hours. The meat will fall from the bone when it is done.
- Chill the cooked short ribs in the braising liquid. Once completely cool, shred the short rib meat and reserve for the meat sauce.
- In a sauce pot, brown the ground beef, adding the minced garlic about halfway through the browning process.
- While the meat is browning, add the tomato sauce, peanuts, basil and peaches to a blender and pulse until everything is incorporated.
- Add the sauce from the blender to the beef in the pan, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for 1 hour, stirring often.
- After 1 hour, add the shredded short rib to the sauce, cook for another 15 minutes, and remove from the heat. Chill the sauce until ready to use.
- For the cheese mixture:
- Stir together:
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
- 1½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- Additional ingredients:
- 12 lasagna noodles, either fresh noodles from White Bull in Decatur or store-bought
- shredded mozzarella cheese for topping
- freshly torn basil for garnish
- Assembly: Spray two 8-inch square pans with cooking spray.
- Spoon the sauce to cover the bottom of the pans.
- Place three noodles over the sauce, then spread the cheese mixture and another layer of sauce.
- Repeat this process until all the ingredients are incorporated in the layering.
- Cover the pans with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
- Uncover and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese and garnish with freshly torn basil.
- Bake uncovered for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Serves 12
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving: 611 calories (percent of calories from fat, 52), 36 grams protein, 38 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams fiber, 35 grams total fat (14 grams saturated), 138 milligrams cholesterol, 487 milligrams sodium.Read more stories like this by liking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook, following @ATLDiningNews on Twitter and @ajcdining on Instagram.
