Lasagna

< Back to Informally Cooking...

1268506458|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Making the Amanda/Barilla standard. Laying out the method here for my own reference.

Sauce

1. Saute 3 cloves garlic.
2. Add 2 large can crushed tomatoes.
3. Add salt, sugar, pepper, and fresh herbs to taste.
4. Simmer while prepping other ingredients.

Veggies

1. Saute one diced onion until translucent and slightly browned, adding sugar and salt while cooking.
2. Add sliced baby portabello mushrooms and cook until they lose all water.
3. Set the mushroom and onion mix aside in a bowl.
4. Microwave 1 pack of frozen, chopped spinach until defrosted.
5. Add to the same pan and cook off water.

Cheese Mix
Just following the instructions on the pasta box :) Combine in a large bowl (not a medium bowl!):

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 15oz container ricotta
• 1 (2 cup) package of pre-grated Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup grated or powdered Parmesan
• (optional) I have sometimes mixed the spinach in the with cheese instead of layering it separately.

Layer

1. Lightly spray a large baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Add a layer of sauce to the bottom of the dish.
3. Layer in slightly overlapping sheets on uncooked dry lasagna pasta
4. Add a layer of cheese mix.
5. Add a layer of spinach.
6. Add a layer of onion/mushrooms.
7. Add a bit of sauce.
8. Repeat. Use the next lasagna sheets to squish down the previous layers.
9. When finished adding the last layer of lasagna sheets, fill in all empty space with sauce and add a layer of mixed Italian shredded cheese (usually about 2 cups).
10. Bake at 375 for 50 minutes or so. Use tin foil if the cheese starts getting too browned (not always necessary).

Variations

• I'm not sure it much matters if you put the sauce on top of the lasagna or on top of the veggies layers.
• Mix the spinach in with the cheese blend.
• Be lazy and leave out the onion and mushrooms.

Whatever you do: never ever add other veggies to lasagna. Hold back on broccoli, corn, carrots, peas, etc. That's just wrong! Say no to over-vegetabling a great cheese-based dish!