Pepperoni Lasagna

This recipe combines pizza and pasta – two of my kids’ favorite things! Amazingly easy and wickedly tasty this recipe will easily become part of your weekly dinner rotations.

Pepperoni Lasagna
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients
1 pounds lasagna sheets
2 cups hand cut 1/8-inch slices pepperoni
4 cups tomato sauce, recipe follows
1 pound ricotta
16 ounces shredded mozzarella
2 pounds bulk Italian sausage, cooked
3/4 cup grated Parmesan

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Boil 6 quarts of water, add pinch of salt, and cook pasta to almost done. Remove from water and shock in ice bath.

In medium saucepan add pepperoni and saute over medium heat until crispy. Remove from heat and drain on a paper towel.

In a 10-by-14-by-3-inch baking pan or dish, pour 1 cup of tomato sauce in bottom and around sides. Layer lasagna sheets on the bottom of the pan, overlapping by 1/2-inch. Add 1/3 amount of ricotta, 1/3 amount of mozzarella, 1/3 amount of sausage, then sprinkle generously with the Parmesan, add 1/2 cup tomato sauce, and 1/4 cup of pepperoni. Repeat this 2 more times.

On the very top sheet, top with remaining ricotta, tomato sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, and dust with Parmesan. Bake for approximately 45 minutes. Remove from oven; let sit for 15 minutes. Cut and serve immediately.

Tomato Sauce:
3 ounces extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, minced
5 medium-sized garlic cloves, crushed
6 cups skinned and diced Roma tomatoes
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano leaves
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil. Add onion and cook over medium to low heat until transparent. Add garlic and cook until almost brown. Then add tomatoes and cook for ½ hour over low to medium heat. Add the basil and oregano and continue to cook for another ½ hour. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper, cool and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.