Lasagna
Whole Lotta Baby Going On
I made a big batch of bolognese for no reason a couple of weeks ago and figured I would try my hand at an American-style lasagna. After a couple of iterations it is pretty good. Here we go...
You'll need...
- Batch of Bolognese Sauce (made with one extra can of water)
- 16 lasagna noodles (but boil up the whole box)
- 16oz whole ricotta cheese
- 20-25oz grated mozzarella (I used pre-grated this time but fresh grated full fat is best)
- One egg
- 1 cup milk or cream
- 12-15 good sized fresh basil leaves
- about 1 cup freshly grated parmesano reggiano
Make the sauce, but add one can of water after the two cans of tomatoes in order to get a more spreadable sauce.
Preheat your oven to 375F and put a 9x13 baking dish on top of a sheet pan. You don't want lasagna filling dropping onto the bottom of your oven.
Add the ricotta, mozzarella, egg and milk to a bowl and mix thoroughly.
Chop the basil and stir it into the cheese mixture.
Boil the noodles about one minute less than the package says.
Get the noodles out of the hot water and into some cool water to stop the cooking.
Spray some cooking spray in your 9x13 and begin assembling the 3-story building...
We start with the subfloor which is 2 ladles of sauce.
Next we tile together the first floor.
The first floor consists of sauce and then cheese. 2 to 3 ladles of sauce
and 1/3 of the cheese. The cheese doesn't need to be spread perfectly as it will melt into position.
Second floor. Trim the noodles so that you can lay them perpendicular to the first floor. This adds to the structural 'tegrity.
Sauce...
...and cheese.
Third floor. If you want to avoid crispy edges (I hate 'em but some people love them) then make sure that the third floor noodles have a half-inch gap between the pasta and pan. I didn't do that this time.
More sauce and the rest of the cheese. You can pick up the baking dish and tap it on the counter a couple of times to even out the ingredients.
Now top with your grated parmesan.
Cover with foil in such a way that the foil doesn't touch the cheese.
See the "dome effect" of this foil. The heavy-duty foil really helps here.
At this point the dish can be stored in the fridge as long as overnight. Warning! This thing is deceptively heavy. Make sure you have the door open and ready anytime you try to move it into or out of a fridge or oven.
Bake for 30 min covered (40 if your lasagna spent time in the refrigerator) then 30 min uncovered.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 20 min before you try to cut and serve.
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| This is what happens if you try to serve lasagna before the 20 min resting period |
Lasagna tip. If you cool the whole casserole in the fridge before cutting you get perfect-looking slices. Just zap 'em for a bit at 50% power.
