3-4 pounds of fresh, washed and scolded tomatoes (I heated me water in the pan that I was going to make the sauce in (the Dutch oven that came with my set of Analon pans). After scolding the tomatoes in the sink, I stopped the action by adding cold tap water and allowing it to cool enough that I could slip the skins, core and quarter my fresh tomatoes.
2 8oz. cans tomato paste
2 garlic cloves, crushed or 1 tsp. minced garlic from the jar
1 med. onion, cleaned and rough chopped
1 med. bell pepper, washed, seeded and rough chopped
1 tsp. kosher salt
8 or 10 fresh sweet basil leaves, washed, and thinly chopped
1/2 C. fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
1 tsp. fresh minced oregano
2 tsp. baking soda (This takes the acid out of the sauce. Use a spoon to scrape the pale foam that come to the top off and dis guard it.)
This will simmer for nearly 4 hours. I used a potato masher to crush the tomatoes as they are beginning to cook really well. Now, IF, you want Sam's recipe, start out with 4 or 5 fresh pork neck bones. These should have meat on them but very little if any fat. The bones add the best flavor and after the sauce is made, are a nice treat to cook or whom ever is around to sneak in a nibble.
I let the sauce completely cool after it has cooked down to the desired consistency. If you have a Denny in your house, you will have to keep an eye on the pot as he thinks he is saving the sauce and keeps turning the heat off. I put mine in a covered container and in the refrigerator over night.
The Lasagna:
1.5 pks of oven ready lasagna noodles
Sauce you have purchased or prepared, If you purchase, I would get at least 2 quarts.
Cheese filling
2 15 oz. cartons of Ricotta cheese
1 C. grated Parmesan or Romano or a mixture of the two
2 lrg. eggs
2 tsp. Penzey's Italian seasoning
Meat (My local market doesn't know any other type of Italian sausage except the really hot Sicilian style and I don't care for that at all so I made my own:
1.5 pounds lean ground pork
1.5 tsp. Penzey's Italian Sausage seasoning
Mix this by hand and allow to set for about 20 minutes before you fry it off. There should be very little grease in the pan when you are done.
Assembly:
350F, 45 minutes, 9z13 deep baking dish or aluminum pan spayed with PAM.
Arrange the noodles in the bottom of the pan and place one on end on each of the sides of the pan. Cover the noodles with sauce, you have plenty if you made what I did, so don't drown them but cover them well. Add about 1/2 of the meat followed by 1/2 of the cheese mixture and then follow that with a good covering of shredded Mozzarella cheese (I like it cheesy so about 1.5 cups of cheese. Repeat this one more time and finish with sauce over the top and sprinkle on a liberal amount of grated Parmesan cheese.
I guess you should know that I like my lasagna meaty, creamy with cheese and rich with red sauce so I hope that you enjoy this one.
God Bless,
Linda
