Marinara Sauce

For the busy home cook, having home made tomato sauce in the freezer is like having money in the bank. Home made tomato sauce is not only great to have on hand, it is less expensive than the jarred varieties and contains no corn syrup, preservatives or ingredients whose names you can’t pronounce! It takes no more than 15 or 20 minutes to put together and then just sits on the stove and simmers for 60 to 90 minutes.

2 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
Large pinch of red pepper flakes
Olive oil

Add enough olive oil to film the bottom of a saucepan and let it warm.
Add the onion and cook just until it softens and becomes translucent.
Add the garlic and cook for 1 or 2 minutes more. Add the tomatoes,
basil, oregano and pepper flakes and stir well. Bring the sauce to a
boil, stirring occasionally then turn the heat down so that the sauce
just simmers and cook for 60 to 90 minutes or until sauce is nicely
thickened. Makes about 6 cups of sauce.

The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for 3 or 4 days or may be
frozen for up to 3 months.


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My Favorite Lasagne

When I first started making this dish I used  the traditional Italian-American recipe with ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, but I have since changed to this recipe which uses a cream sauce flavored with Parmegiano-Reggiano cheese.  It is lighter and, to my taste, more delicate and delicious.

For the cream sauce:

3 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
4 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated

3 cups tomato sauce
9 or 10 meatballs, sliced,  from my Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs recipe

1 package Barilla no-cook lasagne noodles

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and add the flour, stir and cook for  2 or 3 minutes to eliminate the floury taste.  Slowly add the milk in ½ cup increments, whisking until smooth between each addition.  Finally add the cream, whisking constantly.  Cook until the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, still whisking, for 2 or 3 minutes.  Remove from the heat and add the nutmeg and salt and half the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

In a 3 quart casserole, spread a layer of tomato sauce, top with about 1 cup of the cream sauce.  Top this with a layer of lasagne noodles.  Top with a layer of tomato sauce, to[ with 1 cup of cream sauce and add a layer of meatball slices, sprinkle with  grated cheese.  Top with noodles.  Repeat two more times and top with tomato sauce and a final layer of cream sauce.  Sprinkle with remaining grated cheese.

 

Bake in a 350° oven for 30 minutes or until bubbling gently.  Or refrigerate until 1¾ hours before serving.  Let come to room temperature for an hour and then bake as above.  Allow to rest 15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

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