The Hell Of Lasagna (A Mini-Series)
So, after I bitched about what a pain it is to make lasagna, my friend Jeffery told me to stop whining and try his recipe, which he swears is delicious and
“easy, but not speedy.” Now, to me, if a recipe is not speedy, it ain’t easy, but then, I’m a crabby cook, and Jeffery is one of those admirable people who understand the expression, “the joy of cooking.”
I stored Jeffery’s lasagna in my Recipe Red Alert file, where I keep all daunting recipes. But I also jotted “Make J’s lasagna, you lazy cow!” on my To Do list, right under “Organize your sock drawer, you slob!” and other abusive reminders. And today, suddenly, I succumbed to Jeffery’s (and my own) pressure. I’m making the damn lasagna.
Well, I’m starting to make it. See, that’s The Hell Of Lasagna. It’s got recipes within the recipe. Jeffery’s requires TWO sauces (which is better than some which call for three), not to mention a roasted chicken. So I’m taking it slow. Today, i made the red sauce. Tomorrow I’ll take another step, making the white sauce maybe, or the chicken, depending on my mood. Hopefully by week’s end I’ll have a final product.
Tomato Sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large red onion, choppe
3 pounds fabulous tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Heat the oil and butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook till soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, raise the heat a little and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the sauce thickens and tastes delicious. Pour the sauce in the food processor and pulse until it’s almost smooth but still kinda chunky. Taste, and add salt and pepper as desired.
Yield: ABout 5ish cups
Note: This makes a sweet, mellow sauce. If you want somthing more zingy, Jeffery suggests recipes by Marcella Hazan or Mario Batali.
Okay, that’s it for today. Click here for Day Two, here for Day Three, and here for Day Four. Yes, it’s a living hell.

Tags: lasagna recipe, tomato recipe, tomato sauce
June 1st, 2010 at 5:06 pm
Oh, I look forward to these updates. I think you should be filming yourself, actually. The best documentarians know *when* to begin, and the Crabby Cook should know what makes her Crabby.
I wanna see some cheese flinging at the end!
June 15th, 2010 at 11:34 am
can I give you advice? instead of onion put in the pan with the oil (even more than 2 spoons) two pieces of garlic!! and don’t put the butter, because it make the sauce heavier!
June 15th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
Hey Jessica, I love your blogs; I love Lasagna but I have to be careful due to being lactose intolerance; you’re making me hungry, the recipe sounds delicious.
June 15th, 2010 at 7:25 pm
I question the lack of garlic too. Also, the lack of basil, oregano and as you’re using chicken, maybe some poultry spice. Plus, try Cinnamon. It goes nicely in almost anything.
July 15th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
The video blog is a good idea. My friends and I were lamenting the lack of movies with you in it. I bet if you started video blogs my fiancee {who can’t cook macaroni and cheese from a box} would find himself a budding chef in no time. If you happen to sing while your cooking like I find myself doing, all the better.