Ostrich Lasagna

Yesterday we visited an ostrich farm and fed some of the animals.

I had warned the kiddos that it was a farm and we might purchase eggs and, possibly, meat. The guy manning the store didn't have the meat there, but told me where - in town - I could find it. So, today, we tracked some down. The kids had voted for the steaks, but all the store had was ground ostrich meat. I had been planning on making lasagna anyway, so I decided to make ostrich lasagna. I'm certain that the flavor is masked by the herbs and the wine, so we'll have to try again another time.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, peeled and diced
• 1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and diced
• olive oil
• 2 pounds ground ostrich meat
• 2 T butter
• 2 C fresh tomato sauce
• 1/2 C red wine
• 1/2 C water
• 1 C fresh chopped parsley
• 2 T fresh oregano
• freshly ground salt, to taste
• freshly ground pepper, to taste
• lasagna noodles
• 3 C shredded cheese (I used a mixture of mozzarella, asiago, provolone, and Monterey jack)
• 1 C shredded parmesan
• 3 C small curd cottage cheese

Procedure
In a large, flat-bottom pan, saute the onions and fennel in a splash of olive oil until softened and translucent. Add in the ground ostrich meat and 2 T butter; friends had warned me that ostrich was lean and needed added fat. Cook till browned through completely.

Add in the tomato sauce, wine, and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, stir in herbs, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. To assemble the lasagna, layer meat sauce, noodles, shredded cheese blend , cottage cheese, and meat sauce. Repeat till your pan is full though the last layer should be meat so that the noodles are completely covered.

Cover with foil. Bake in the 375 degree F oven for one hour. Remove the foil. Sprinkle with shredded parmesan. Return pan to the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese melted. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing. Serve hot.

On a side note...we just realized that the table does actually have six chairs. And we found the leaf for the table in the girls' closet. So, tonight, we ate all together instead of in two shifts. Great conversation with lots of giggles. Now I just need to figure out how to get all of us in the shot...and in focus.