Len's Recipe of the Month - October 2018

I've shared a lot of recipes here.   Now I'm going to raise the curtain on the one thing I make perfectly.   It has generated lots of interest from my friends who bring Tupperware over whenever I make it.   Is it a terribly different recipe from what you make or your Italian mother-in-law conjures up?  Probably not.  But I know how mine tastes and hopefully yours will be as big a hit.

Here's my recipe for....LASAGNA!

First off, get one of those disposable lasagna tin foil pans.   It makes clean up so much easier.   

Pre-heat your oven at 350 degrees.

In a large pan or a Dutch oven, spread a little olive oil.   Chop up three cloves of garlic and saute.   Then add a 1/4 cup of chopped onions.   This combined smell alone will delight you.

When the onions are translucent, add two pounds of ground Italian sausage.  You can go mild, sweet, or hot.  Now, lots of people do this with ground beef.  I think sausage adds a wonderful flavor to this.   Brown it all up with the onions and garlic.   

Add two to three boxes of chopped tomatoes.   Yes, boxes.  You've seen them in the stores.  The tomatoes seem to taste better and, by swirling around a little red wine in the empty containers, you bring something really cool to this meat sauce.  Add about two tablespoons of tomato paste.   Stir it in.   Add oregano, Italian seasoning, Kosher salt, and pepper to taste.

Now let it all simmer for about an hour.   The longer, the better.

When you're ready, spoon a little of the meat sauce onto the bottom of the disposable pan.  That's your base.   Get a box of those oven ready lasagna noodles.   They work fine.  Lay three across the bottom of the pan.  

You've bought yourself a container of ricotta cheese and hopefully you've let it come to room temperature.  Spread about 1/3 of the cheese on the lasagna noodles.   Then sprinkle liberally some shredded mozzarella cheese.   Use Sargento.  That's the best.

Now spoon more meat sauce over what you've done.   Now layer three more noodles.   Use the second third of the ricotta cheese.   Top that with some shredded parmesan cheese.   More sauce on top of that.

Keep repeating the layers with two cheeses and then more sauce.   When you're out of noodles, spoon more sauce over everything and then cover with a lot of parmesan cheese.  If you've got sauce left over, freeze it for a pasta night.

Put some aluminum foil over the pan and put it in the oven for about an hour.  Then take the tin foil off and let it go for another 15 or 20 minutes so it gets nice and toasty on the top.

This is a lot of food.   Have Tupperware on hand for friends.   Or make them bring their own.  Slabs of lasagna freeze wonderfully.

You're welcome.

Dinner last night:  Roast beef and German potato salad in the NY apartment.