Jay's Lasagna with Sunday Sauce

This is perfect for that Saturday or Sunday when the weather outside may not be so nice, you want to stay inside and have nice and hearty dinner. It can be a 5-6 hour labor of love. I will often make the sauce the day before. I like to think of lasagna recipes as guides. These are the things I like to put in mine, but you can quite literally put anything in it. I've had it with prosciutto, mushrooms, peppers, meatballs... the possibilities are endless. You can make it like I do, or use it as a guide and create your own masterpiece.

Good

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Chef's, start your ovens! Ready, set, go... Let's make Lasagna

Step 2

Heat olive oil in Dutch oven or sauce pot on medium heat, then add chopped red onion, chopped garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and cook until browned. Add 1 cup dry red wine and 2 tablespoons dried oregano and cook until wine is reduced by about half.

Step 3

Add chopped fresh tomatoes, cooking until tomatoes are "stewed, buttwad." Then add the two 28-oz. cans tomato puree and a handful fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces. Stir and let simmer on low while the flavors develop and the scent gets stronger. You can do this for HOURS, but about an hour would be my absolute minimum, I always simmer at least two.

Step 4

If your sauce is too loose, add tomato paste to achieve the desired thickness. The more you simmer, the less tomato paste you will need, if at all!

Step 5

I run an immersion blender through mine to get the right texture. It’s really good chunky as well. You do you. I've done it both ways and just like the way the smoother sauce becomes one with the cheese mixture. You can add more mozzarella as a layer of it's own, if you want to get that cheese pull. I don't think it's necessary, but can you ever have too much cheese?

Step 6

Season with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and a bit of sugar to taste. This is where you can personalize your flavor a bit. I like my sauce on the sweet side, so I tend to use a bit more sugar. Plus, if your tomatoes aren't naturally sweet, a little sugar takes care of that!

Step 7

You can make the sauce a few days in advance—the flavor will only get better with time. I’ve frozen it as well.

Step 8

CHEESE: Mix 2 lb ricotta, 1 lb shredded mozzarella, 1 cup grated parmesan, 10 oz goat cheese, 1 cup chopped fresh mint, and salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes together in a bowl.

Step 9

MEAT: Remove sausage from its casings, break into pieces, and cook in a pan until crumbled and browned. It does not need to be fully cooked since it will bake longer in the oven.

Step 10

NOODLES: Boil your lasagna noodles in salty boiling water until al dente. Drain noodles and toss with olive oil so they don't stick together. You can also separate them on a tray here, because they WILL stick together no matter what.

Step 11

I have also used the lasagna sheets that you do not need to boil before layering, and they're great, though I prefer the texture of boil first noods because they are thicker. They don't change this recipe at all, so if you want to use them to make it easier on yourself, please do. Just obviously don't boil them before layering them into the lasagna. If you want to make fresh lasagna sheets, PLEASE do. I've purchased the pasta roller attachment for my Kitchen Aid stand mixer, but sadly have never used it.

Step 12

LAYERING: In your deepest baking pan (any size works. You can even make two small ones and freeze an unbaked one for later!), execute as many layers in this order as possible:

Step 13

1. Sauce

Step 14

2. Noodles

Step 15

3. Sauce

Step 16

4. Cheese

Step 17

5. Sausage

Step 18

Try and make 2-3 full layers like this, but the name of the game is thin layers, as many as you can.

Step 19

The last layer should be noodles with sauce and grated parmesan on top.

Step 20

Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven until it's as brown on top as you want. I usually go about 30-60 minutes, depending on thickness and your oven. Keep an eye on her, get her as crispy as you like. I enjoy the crunchy edges. If you do not, make sure everything on top is coated well with sauce and cheese.

Step 21

Let it rest for 20-30 minutes. If you can’t wait, it’s fine, it just won’t stay together very well.

Step 22

ENJOY!!!