1/2    Onion, chopped

      1    Carrot, peeled and sliced

           -very thin
      1    Stalk celery, sliced very

           -thin
      4    Cloves garlic, sliced

    1/4 c  Olive oil

      2 cn Plum tomatoes, drained (28

           -ounces each)
           Salt, pepper, and sugar
           -(optional), to taste
           Red pepper flakes, to taste
           -(optional
    1/2 c  Red wine

           FOR THE BECHAMEL
      2 c  Milk

      4 tb Unsalted butter

      4 tb All-purpose flour

    1/2 ts Salt

    1/2 ts White pepper

           Nutmeg, to taste
           FOR ASSEMBLING
           Olive oil and salt for
           -cooking lasagna noodles
    3/4 lb Lasagna noodles

     15 oz Ricotta cheese (1 container)

    1/4    To 1/3 pound mozzarella

           -cheese, thinly sliced
  FOR THE SAUCE
  Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
  To make the sauce, saute the onions, carrot, celery, and garlic in the
  olive oil until golden.  Add the tomatoes, mashing them in the pot as they
  are added.  Bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat, uncovered, for 1
  hour.  Add salt, pepper, sugar, and red pepper flakes; cook for another 1/2
  hour, covered.  In the last 20 minutes of cooking, add the red wine.
  To make the bechamel sauce, bring the milk to a simmer in a small saucepan.
  Melt the butter in another saucepan and gradually whisk in the flour.  Cook
  for about 2 minutes, but do not let the mixture turn brown. Remove the
  saucepan from the heat and add the hot milk, whisking constantly.  Return
  the saucepan to low heat and cook, whisking constantly, for 5 to 10
  minutes, or until the sauce is medium thick.  Add the salt, pepper, and
  nutmeg.
  Cook the lasagna noodles in salted boiling water, with a few drops of olive
  oil, until al dente.  Drain.
  In a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, spoon enough tomato sauce to just cover the
  bottom of the pan.  Cover with a layer of lasagna noodles, then some tomato
  sauce.  Spoon on a third of the ricotta cheese, then a third of the
  bechamel sauce.  Cover with a layer of pasta, then tomato sauce, a third of
  the ricotta and a third of the bechamel.  Repeat one more time. Top with a
  layer of sliced mozzarella cheese.  Bake in a 375-degree oven for about 30
  minutes, or until piping hot.  Remove from the oven and sprinkle with
  optional Parmesan cheese before serving.
  Makes 10 servings.
  Nutrients per Serving: 336 Calories, 13 g Protein, 26 g Carbohydrate, 21 g
  Fat, 10 g Saturated Fat, 50 mg Cholesterol, 483 mg Sodium.
  [THE WASHINGTON POST; January 16, 1991]
  Posted by Fred Peters.