Lasagna

Mmm yum yum, lasagna! If there was a staple Italian pasta dish that Americans think of, I think it would be lasagna. Maybe it would be spaghetti and meatballs, but lasagna would probably be right up there. Funny story - a few weeks back I had jury duty and rather than park downtown, I decided to take Lyft. I had a driver who had recently moved here from Africa on the way home. He asked me what I love to do or what I am passionate about and the first thing that came to mind was cooking. He then asked if I could make lasagna. I told him that I definitely can and actually just made a lasagna. He then said to me "well, I can't make a lasagna but I can make Hamburger Helper and that is basically the same thing, right?" I then proceeded to laugh the entire ride home as did he at his comment! Hamburger Helper? Yeesh!

A week or so ago I posted about making creamy bolognese - recipe here. Since I had a ton of leftovers, I decided to throw together a lasagna. I like to make more of a rustic lasagna - mainly because I was too lazy to cut my noodles down to size - but also because I love the crispy edges that you get with a rustic lasagna! Mmm crispy edges!

Look at those crispy edges!

This recipe has quite a few elements, but don't get discouraged. Once you have everything prepped, it comes together quick.  Please also note that I used a small casserole dish (8"x8") so if you are making a larger lasagna you will need more noodles. The other ingredients are enough for a large lasagna. 

Lasagna
Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

• 9 lasagna noodles cooked to al dente
• 2-3 cups creamy bolognese (or regular bolognese or just marinara if you are vegetarian)
• 15 oz container ricotta cheese (part skim or whole, doesn't matter - if you are making a smaller lasagna, you will not use all of this)
• 1 bunch basil leaves chopped or 2 tsp dry basil
• 4 oz grated parmesan cheese
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese (more if you like it super cheesy)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 1/4 cups of milk at room temperature
• 3 cloves of garlic minced
• Salt and pepper
• 1-2 spritz of cooking spray

How to make lasagna:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Prep a casserole dish by spraying with cooking spray and set aside. 
2. Prepare a bechamel sauce. Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a medium sauce pan over medium high heat. Add the garlic and saute for 2 mins. Whisk in 2 tbsp of floor and continue to stir until the paste cooks and bubbles slightly, but do not let it brown. I repeat, do not let in brown. Add the milk and continue to stir as the sauce thickens. Bring it to a boil and add in half of your parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Take off the heat and set the sauce aside. 
3. Mix together the ricotta cheese, basil, and some salt and pepper in a small bowl. Set this aside as well. 
4. Now we are going to assemble the lasagna. Pictures to follow because it helps to make sense of the madness. Layer 1 - Place 1/4 cup of the bechamel in the bottom of the casserole dish. Place three lasagna noodles on top of the bechamel (notice I did not cut mine and just let them creep up the sides). Cover the noodles with a thin layer of your ricotta mixture. Cover the ricotta mixture with 1/4 cup of bechamel. Now, top this with some parmesan cheese (half of the half that you have left). Scoop about 1 cup of bolognese on top of the parmesan cheese. 
5. Layer 2 - Top your bolognese with 3 more lasagna noodles. Notice that I placed these the opposite way to you get a ton of crispy edges. Cover the noodles with a thin layer of your ricotta mixture. Cover the ricotta mixture with 1/4 cup of bechamel. Now, top this with some parmesan cheese (half of the half that you have left). Scoop about 1 cup of bolognese on top of the parmesan cheese. 
6. Layer 3 - Place the final 3 lasagna noodles on top of the bolognese. Top with plenty of mozzarella cheese. 
7. Cover the lasagna with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the tinfoil at the 30 minute mark and bake for 30 minutes more. It should come out nice and toasty on top with delicious crispy edges. Wait 20 minutes to cut into the lasagna so it has time to setup. 

Bechamel

Layer 1 of noodles

Layer 1 of ricotta

Layer 1 of parmesan

Layer 1 of bolognese

Layer 2 of noodles (repeat the process from here)

Layer 3 of noodles topped with lots of Mozzarella cheese

Mmm yum yum!!

You could also choose to make a low carb or version of this with zucchini as a replacement for the noodles. If you can't eat gluten, there are plenty of options nowadays for gluten free noodles made from corn, quinoa, etc.

Enjoy!

-H