Recipe - Red Pepper Lasagna

4 md Red sweet peppers; about 1
One half pound total
1 tablespoon Olive oil
1 cn (28oz.) crushed tomatoes
One half cup Snipped parsley
4 Cloves garlic; minced
Three fourths teaspoon Black pepper
1/3 cup Butter or margarine
1/3 cup Allpurpose flour
One half teaspoon Salt
One half teaspoon Ground nutmeg
3 cup Milk
1 Recipe Homemade Egg Pasta;
or 12 lasagna noodles
1 One fourth cup Parmesan cheese; finely
shredded, (5 oz.)
Fresh tomato wedges;
optional
Fresh herb sprigs; optional

"NOTES: This recipe is one of my all time favorites, says Matt Brown. I
could eat it every day of the year."

For red pepper sauce, halve red peppers; remove stems, seeds, and
membranes. Place peppers, cut side down, on a foillined baking sheet. Bake
in a 425 F oven for 20 to 25 minutes or till skin is bubbly and browned.
Wrap peppers in the foil; let stand 20 to 30 minutes or till cool enough to
handle. Peel skin from peppers. Cut peppers into thin strips. In a large
saucepan cook red pepper in hot oil over medium heat for 1 minute. Stir in
undrained tomatoes, parsley, garlic, and black pepper. Bring to boiling;
reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring often. Set aside
to cool.

For béchamel sauce, in a medium saucepan melt butter or margarine. Stir in
flour, salt, and nutmeg till smooth. Add milk all at once. Cook and stir
over medium heat till thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute
more. Set aside to cool.

Prepare Homemade Egg Pasta (if using). Roll out dough, using rolling pin
method or pasta machine method. Allow the dough to dry for I hour. Cut
dough into twelve 12x4inch strips.

To cook homemade pasta, bring a large pot of salted water to boiling. (Add
1 teaspoon cooking oil to water, if desired, to prevent pasta from
sticking.) Add a few strips of homemade pasta to water; return to boiling.
Cook, uncovered, 6 minutes or till just tender. Remove pasta with a slotted
spoon and immediately immerse in cold water. Repeat with the remaining
homemade pasta. (Or, cook lasagna noodles according to package directions;
immerse in cold water.) Remove cooked pasta with a slotted spoon and place
on a large towel to remove excess water; blot dry with another towel.

To assemble, grease the bottom of a 3quart rectangular baking dish. Cover
bottom with about onefourth of the pasta, trimming pasta as necessary.
Spread about 1 One fourth cups of the red pepper sauce over the pasta. Drizzle
about Three fourths cup of the béchamel sauce over the red pepper sauce; sprinkle
with about 1/3 cup of the Parmesan cheese. Repeat twice more with the
pasta, red pepper sauce, béchamel sauce, and Parmesan cheese. Top with the
remaining pasta and béchamel sauce; sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan
cheese. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 F oven 30 to 35 minutes or till bubbly
and light brown on top. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with
tomatoes and fresh herbs, if desired. Makes 8 maindish servings.

Makeahead directions. Assemble lasagna as directed. Cover with plastic
wrap; refrigerate up to 24 hours. To serve, remove plastic wrap and cover
with foil. Bake in a 350F oven 30 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for 15 to 25
minutes more or till bubbly.

SOURCE: BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS, OCTOBER 1996

Recipe by: Dinner from the Heart

Posted to MCRecipe Digest V1 #992 by "M. Hicks" nitro_ii@email.msn.com
on Jan 8, 1998