Aeagle.227
net.cooks
utcsrgv!utzoo!decvax!duke!chico!harpo!cbosg!ihnss!eagle!cw
Thu Feb 18 23:07:49 1982
Fresh Tomato Sauce and Lasagna
Fresh Italian Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
2 doz fresh tomatoes
2-3 chopped onions
2-3 Tbl olive oil or butter
2-3 cup red wine
1-2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1-2 tsp oregano
1/2-1 tsp sage (optional)
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 crumbled bay leaves
1 tsp cinnamon
6 cloves crushed garlic
Method
Clean the tomatoes. They may be skinned by being dipped in
boiling water; certainly you must cut out stems and bad
spots and you must squeeze out the jelly and seeds. Saute
the onions in the oil in a large pot. When the onions are
lightly browned, add the tomatoes, wine, spices, and garlic.
If you like, you can also add similar quantities of
marjoram, rosemary, or basil. Bring the sauce to a mild
boil and simmer for several hours until reduced by perhaps
one fourth.
Remove the sauce from the heat and cool until you can handle
it safely. Pass the sauce through a blender or food
processor several cups at a time and through a coarse sieve.
You must do this if you did not skin the tomatoes; this step
will pill the skins in the strainer. Return the sauce to
the pot for further cooking.
Simmer the sauce again until reduced to about 2/3 of the
original volume. Check the acid/sugar balance and add
either (or both) 1-2 tsp of sugar or up to 1 Tbl of red wine
or cider vinegar. Recheck the spices. If you use canned
tomatoes, the sugar and vinegar will very likely be
necessary.
Cool sauce and use as desired.
Notes
All the quantities in this recipe are approximate. Use good
sense and taste often. The red wine should be a reasonable
quality jug or table wine; wines with a fair quantity of
sugar will do no harm.
Lasagna
Ingredients
2-3 quarts tomato sauce
2 lbs mozzarella
2 lbs riccotta
1/4-1/2 lb grated Parmesan (fresh!)
1 lb spicy Italian sausage
1 large onion
15 oz lasagna noodles
2 Tbl olive oil or melted butter
Method
Put the riccotta cheese out to come to room temperature.
Slice the mozzarella into thin slices. Take the casings off
the sausage, crumble it, and saute it. When sausage is
cooked, remove meat, drain grease, and saute the onion
(sliced into thin half rings) in the meat drippings until
the onion is transparent. Boil one 15 oz package lasagna
noodles, wash in cold water, drain, and cool as directed on
noodle package.
Lightly brush an 11" by 17" baking pan with the olive oil or
butter. Layer twice these ingredients in order: noodles,
meat, onions, riccotta, mozzarella, and sauce. Top with a
final layer of noodles, mozzarella, sauce, and Parmesan.
You may use Parmesan inside if you desire. The riccotta
will probably not spread easily; spoon-sized dollops are all
right. Cover the pan with foil and bake for about one hour
at 350 degrees until heated through (better too long than too short
a baking time). Top may be browned by removing foil near
end. If liquid appears around edges, spoon off.
Notes
Recently I have discovered that fresh sheet pasta makes lasagna
much easier. The sheets can be used whole as they are and need
not be boiled and drained. Also, the use of foil is to keep the
top from burning; you have to judge the balance between browning
the top and generating too much liquid by leaving the foil on
too long.
With red wine and green salad, serves the Italian army
generously.
Charles Wetherell
eagle!cw
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