Fresh Tomato Sauce Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil;

1 cup finely chopped onion;

4 garlic cloves, minced;

2 28-oz cans whole peeled tomatoes;

2/3 cup thinly sliced fresh basil;

1 teaspoon salt, divided;

1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided;

2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese;

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese;

cooking spray;

8 cooked lasagna noodles;

1/2 cup (2 ounces) finely shredded fresh Parmesan cheese;

1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh basil.

Preparation:

In a small pot or Dutch oven, heatl oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. While this is happening, crush the tomatoes with a food mill or by hand and add them to the pot. (You could probably just buy crushed tomatoes, too, but I haven’t tried it.) Bring pot to a boil. Drop heat to a simmer. Cook 80 minutes, until sauce is a little thickened. Kill heat. Add "2/3 cup basil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper." Stir. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 13x9 Pyrex/baking dish with cooking spray.

In a medium saucepan, heat ricotta over medium heat. When hot, add mozzarella. Stir until mozz is all melted, and fully incorporated with the ricotta. Kill heat. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Stir.

Pour 2 cups tomato sauce in baking dish. Spread to cover bottom. Place 4 noodles over the sauce. Add all the ricotta/mozzarella and spread out on noodles. Place 4 remaining noodles on top of cheese. Spread last 2 cups tomato mixture on noodles. Sprinkle with the parmesan. Bake for 15 minutes, "or until cheese melts and filling is bubbly." Take out of oven. Garnish with basil. Give lasagna a few minutes to cool and set. Serve.