Holiday preparations are well underway. I am especially excited about this Christmas because my brother, his daughter, Mira, along with my parents, are spending Christmas and New Year’s with us. It will be their first time in Pennsylvania since they moved to Iowa in 2006 or 2007. My niece is growing into a beautiful young woman. I’m so proud of her as she is developing into a very intelligent, mature and stately young lady. My brother is my best friend.
Okay, enough gushing. Because this will be the first Christmas we will be together in about five years, I want everything to be special. One of the ways I’m making the meal special is by making as much of it from scratch as I can. I will even be making fresh ricotta cheese. Because of this decision, I will be writing the recipe in parts and bringing you along for the ride.
Everyone has a preference for pasta/tomato sauce, and mine is garlic. I love the taste of garlic and usually make my sauces with lots of powdered or granulated garlic. Since this lasagna is all about au natural, in place of store bought powder, I will be using roasted garlic. Here’s what I used.
1 head of garlic
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I’m using a nice, fruity oil)
Pinch of kosher salt (about 1/8 tsp)
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut off the head of your garlic and place it in an oven safe bowl.
3. Pour enough extra virgin olive oil to cover the exposed head of garlic (about a tablespoon)
4. Use a good pinch of salt to get a light sprinkle on the top. Some people also use a little pepper, but I don’t find it necessary.
5. Cover with aluminum foil and put in your preheated oven for about half an hour.
This is your end result. Once it’s cooled, you simply squeeze as many cloves as you wish to use into your dishes.
