Italian Sausage Lasagna

I created this recipe after watching my real Italian friend, Maria, make real Italian lasagna. I combined her techniques with another traditional recipe from my cookbook Easy Basics for Good Cooking, and came up with a meaty, down-home Italian lasagna. Maria suggested making extra sauce to serve as "gravy" over the top of each serving.

2 medium onions, chopped
6 Tbsp. olive oil
1 to 2 lbs. mild Italian sausage
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 (6 oz.) cans Italian tomato paste
2 (16 oz.) cans Italian tomatoes
1 C dry red wine
1 C water
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. oregano leaves
1 Tbsp. basil
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. sugar
8 oz. lasagna noodles
2 C (1 lb.) ricotta cheese
2 eggs, beaten
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley
16 oz. mozzarella cheese, grated or sliced thin
1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese

Cook onion in oil until soft; add sausage and garlic and cook, stirring, until sausage is brown and crumbly. Discard excess fat. Stir in tomato paste, tomatoes, wine, water, salt, oregano, basil, pepper and sugar. Simmer uncovered for about 1-1/2 hours.

Cook lasagna noodles. Drain, rinse with cold water and drain again.

Mix beaten eggs with ricotta; add 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley.

Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish. Spread a thin layer of sauce over the bottom. Arrange 1/3 of the noodles in an even layer over the sauce. Spread 1/3 sauce over the noodles, dot with 1/3 of the ricotta mixture then 1/3 of the mozzarella.

Repeat layering 2 more times. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over top.

Bake covered at 350F for 30 minutes; remove cover and bake uncovered for 15 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Makes 8 large servings.