Lasagne with Fresh Tomato Sauce, Basil and Mozzarella; the update Recipe
Mon mari wanted me to tell you that he had to cut, rout, sand, glue and nail over 250 pieces of wood to make the drawers and doors for this cabinet.
I think he intended that statement to excuse the fact that it isn't done.
It's almost done....
The doors need to be hung and it needs to be painted. It just has the primer on now.
We had enough knobs so I was thrilled about that. They're crystal and we've had them for years. Everytime we move we take them off and take them with us (replacing them with cheaper ones).
Another day or two I'm told, and it will be done.
I can live with that....
Especially when I still have enough red Roma tomatoes to make this.
This is a light lasagne.
Really.
And it's simple: only 5 ingredients.
It doesn't have the usual Béchamel sauce, lots of shredded cheese or meat....
Just fresh tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and fresh basil.
Lots and lots of fresh basil.
It doesn't look like much - not at all like ooey, gooey lasagne.
It's not a meal, but a first course or side dish.
But, in my humble opinion, it's far and away the best I make.
It tastes like summer.
Lasagne with Fresh Tomato Sauce, Basil and Mozzarella
8 no-cook lasagne noodles
16oz (450gr) fresh, Roma tomatoes
1 large, ripe tomato
1 ball fresh mozzarella
lots of fresh bail leaves
1/2 cup Parmesan, freshly grated
Peel the Roma tomatoes and purée. (The sauce will be quite pink.)
Soak the noodles in hot tap water for 3 minutes.
Slice the mozzarella as thinly as possible, then tear into chunks.
Slice the regular tomato as thinly as possible.
- Reserve half of the tomato sauce for the top. Divide the rest between the following layers:
- In an 8 or 9 inch square baking dish, alternating the direction of the noodles:tomato sauce
- 2 noodles
- 1/2 the mozzarella
- 1/3 basil leaves
- tomato sauce
- 2 noodles
- sliced tomato, overlapping as needed
- 1/3 the basil leaves
- 2 noodles
- 1/2 mozzarella
- 1/3 basil leaves
- tomato sauce
- 2 noodles
- remaining half of the tomato sauce
Cover and bake, 400F (200C) for 20 minutes. Remove, uncover and sprinkle with Parmesan. Return and bake 5 minutes longer. Remove, let rest 5 minutes before cutting.
I got the idea for soaking the no-cook noodles in hot water from a blog I read regularly....
But I can't remember which blog.... So, thank you for the great idea - you know who you are ;-))
Soaking them, in this dish, compensates for their not being a lot of other liquids or the usual Béchamel sauce. It also helped them to bake more quickly.