SAUSAGE LASAGNA WITH SLOW TOMATO SAUCE
Feeds 8 to 10
Since I was a kid, I’ve loved the sound of a big pot of tomato sauce simmering on the back burner all Sunday afternoon. I’m pretty sure I can trace it to the scene in The Godfather when Clemenza hovers over his sauce, explaining to Michael Corleone how to do this right. Before there were bottled jars of tomato sauce—the only kind I ate as a kid—there were Italian-American grandmothers and uncles making slow tomato sauce. Believe us when we say that your homemade lasagna is worth the 4 or so hours of simmering that this sauce requires. No one will ever complain that this dish is gluten-free.
- For the sauce
- Two 28-ounce cans Italian tomatoes (San Marzano tomatoes are best)
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt
- For the lasagna
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 pounds sweet Italian sausage, sliced
- 1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano
- 1 package gluten-free lasagna noodles
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 8 ounces (2 cups) shredded fresh mozzarella cheese
- 4 ounces (1 cup) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Prep the tomatoes. Open the cans of tomatoes and pour them into a large bowl. Crush up the tomatoes with your hands, pulling them apart into fine shreds. Sometimes the tops of the tomatoes are tough. If so, take those out. You want soft tomato shreds in juice here.
Make the sauce. Set a Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Pour in ½ cup of the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions and garlic. Cook until the onions and garlic are both browned and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Don’t burn them, or the entire sauce will taste disgustoso. Instead, watch the onions and garlic closely. If they start to grow too brown, pull the pot off the heat, reduce the heat, and continue cooking on a lower heat. Pinch in the red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds, stirring. Add the tomatoes and stir it all up. Turn the heat down to low and let the tomato sauce simmer, just barely bubbling at the surface, for hours. We mean it—hours. Go watch a movie and get up every 20 minutes or so to give the sauce a stir. Do the laundry. Make lunch. Just watch that sauce and simmer it slowly until it is reduced and smells so good you can’t take it anymore. That’s usually about 4 hours around here. Season with salt.
Cook the sausage filling. Set a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Pour in the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until is browned. Remove the sausage from the pan. Add the mushrooms and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are wilted and the pepper is softened, about 5 minutes. Add the basil and oregano and cook, stirring, until the scent is released, about 1 minute. Add the sausage back in and cook, stirring, until heated through.
Prepare to bake. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Make the lasagna. Put 2 sheets of the pasta, side by side, to cover the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Add enough of the sausage filling to lightly cover the pasta, followed by a scoop of the tomato sauce, some ricotta, some of the mozzarella, and some of the Parmesan. Repeat until the entire baking dish is filled, finishing with a layer of pasta, then tomato sauce, then a thick layer of the mozzarella and Parmesan.
Bake the lasagna. Cover the dish with aluminum foil, making a loose tent to protect that top layer of cheese, and slide it into the oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and bake until the cheese is browned and bubbly, about 10 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, or until you can’t wait one more minute, then serve.
Note: Our favorite gluten-free lasagna noodles are made by Jovial, from Italy.
