Always adding something new to your basic lasagna

Everyone has their own lasagna recipe they use again and again. There are variations, but you typically stick to a tried and true formula. And while I do LOVE lasagna, I wanted something a bit heartier.
I'm absolutely in love with Giada de Laurentiis. She has some fantastic authentic Italian recipes and I decided to combine a couple of them.
First, I made a lovely homemade tomato sauce which after 2 hours of simmering, was TOTALLY worth it. I used this sauce for her Individual Vegetable Lasagna recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_22901,00.html .

Giada's Simple Tomato Sauce

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil


• 1 small onion,


• chopped 2 cloves garlic,


• chopped 1 stalk celery,


• chopped 1 carrot,


• chopped 2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes


• 4 to 6 basil leaves 2 dried bay leaves


• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium-high heat


2. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add celery and carrot and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.


3. Add tomatoes, basil, and bay leaves and reduce the heat to low


4. Cover the pot and simmer for 1 hour or until thick.


5. Remove bay leaves and taste for seasoning

The key to this sauce is to let it simmer slowly over a long time. IT does reduce and become absolutely rich with flavour.

For the lasagna I basically followed her recipe with some minor changes. I used a mixture of ricotta AND cottage cheese (increase protein content and creamyness).

I served the lasagna with a lovely tossed salad with a lemon orange zest vinaigrette.