It all starts with an amazing sauce!

In a large sauce pot (mine is 7 quarts) on medium high heat, add the Olive Oil .

Add the diced Onions (they should sizzle when they hit the oil) and stir in 2 teaspoons each of Salt and Pepper. Let the Onions cook until translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the Celery, Carrots, and Bell Pepper and cook until heated through, another 5 minutes or so.

**Side note:  Two parts onion to one part carrot and celery is referred to by the French name Mirepoix, which is the base flavor of numerous soups, stews and sauces. If you substitute Bell Pepper for the Carrots, it becomes the Holy Trinity, the foundation for American Creole food.  As you can see, I take great liberty with both.**

Now you can throw in all the Meat. If you like, you can place all the meat in a big bowl first and mix it all together with your hands, but I just throw it all in the pot and mix it together with a big wooden spoon.  Seems to work just as well and it keeps my hands clean.

Important step here. You need to season the meat with the same Herbs you put into your sauce.  I have found out the hard way that meat does not absorb the flavor of the sauce and ends up tasting very bland. Add half of the Herbs, Oregano, Thyme, Basil and Marjoram and mix thoroughly into the meat. Pour the Herbs into the palm of your hand and rub your hands together, crushing the Herbs as you add them to the meat.  Adds a huge amount of flavor, plus it makes your hands smell good, like you have been out in the garden picking them fresh.

Cook the Meat until brown overall.  It does not have to be cooked completely as it will finish cooking while simmering in the sauce.

Now the Canned Tomatoes go in. If you are using San Marzano tomatoes, they will be peeled but whole and you need to break them up. I just stick my hand in the pot and crush them between my fingers. but you have to be a little bit careful to keep the sides of your hand pointed inside the pot. I speak from experience when I say the juices will fly a long, long way if you don’t. If you are not that brave, you can put the tomatoes in another large pot or bowl and crush them with a potato masher or similar device before you add them to the meat. Three or four pulses in a blender works too.

Add half of the remaining Herbs, Salt, Pepper and Chile Powder, plus the crushed Garlic, chopped Parsley and cup of Dry Red Wine.

Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer leaving the lid off to let the sauce reduce by at least a third. If you leave the lid on, the steam will run back into the sauce making it very watery. The sauce is going to be spooned onto individual lasagna noodles so it needs to be thick enough to stay in place, so count on 4 to 5 hours of simmer time.

Taste the sauce often and continue to add the remaining Herbs or Salt and Pepper as needed to maintain that perfect flavor.  

If you are in a hurry, grab a bottle of ready made spaghetti sauce, add one cooked hamburger, half cup of red wine and garlic powder.  Quick and easy.

 

 

 

This is the first two layers…the filling is sooooooo rich and creamy and amazingly good.

 

My mother is a fantastic cook, and I wouldn’t want to change one little ingredient in her wonderful Lasagna…so to have my own twist on the same dish.  I needed to come up with something totally different, of my own, and we came up with these wonderful lasagna rolls with a savory artichoke filling.