Italian Sausage Lasagna

Grown men go crazy over this lasagna. I created this recipe after watching my Italian friend, Maria, make real Italian lasagna, which she learned to make from watching her mother. I combined her techniques with another traditional recipe from Easy Basics for Good Cooking. The result was this meaty, down-home Italian lasagna. Maria recommended making extra sauce to serve as “gravy” over the top of each serving.

Makes 8 large servings

• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 6 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 to 2 lbs. mild Italian sausage
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 2 (6 oz.) cans Italian tomato paste
• 2 (16 oz.) cans Italian tomatoes
• 1 C dry red wine
• 1 C water
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. oregano leaves
• 1 Tbsp. basil
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 8 oz. lasagna noodles
• 2 C (1 lb.) ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 Tbsp. fresh parsley
• 16 oz. mozzarella cheese, grated or sliced thin
• 1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese

Cook onion in oil until soft; add sausage and garlic and cook, stirring, until sausage is brown and crumbly. Discard excess fat.

Stir in tomato paste, tomatoes, wine, water, salt, oregano, basil, pepper and sugar. Simmer uncovered for about 1-1/2 hours.

Cook lasagna noodles. Drain, rinse with cold water and drain again.

Mix beaten eggs with ricotta; add 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley.

Butter a 9×13-inch or larger baking dish. Spread a thin layer of sauce over the bottom. Arrange 1/3 of the noodles in an even layer over the sauce. Spread 1/3 sauce over the noodles, dot with 1/3 of the ricotta mixture then 1/3 of the mozzarella.

Repeat layering 2 more times. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over top.

Bake covered at 350F for 30 minutes; remove cover and bake uncovered for 15 minutes or until hot and bubbly.