Last time I made lasagna, it turned out *exactly* perfect. I’m certain I wrote down my recipe at that time, but I can’t find it anywhere. So, I’m hoping this version turns out okay, and meanwhile I’m documenting every step.
Ingredients:
1 28oz can crushed San Marzano tomatoes
1 28oz can diced San Marzano tomatoes
1 large onion
10 TBS butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
8oz mushrooms
1/8th cup olive oil
salt & pepper
16oz frozen chopped spinach
4oz pesto
16oz mozzarella
16oz ricotta
4 eggs
1lb DeCecco lasagna noodles
Start the sauce first, since it takes at least 45 minutes to simmer.
Usual Marcella Hazan recipe.
Before I use the sauce, I like to remove the onion, then run the immersion blender for a moment, to make sure all the diced tomatoes are fully incorporated. This recipe makes more sauce than I needed, but it’s delicious and will get used for something.
Mushrooms:
Pre-roast the mushrooms to extract as much liquid as possible, while concentrating the flavor using the “Easy Roasted Mushrooms” recipe at https://www.seriouseats.com/easy-roasted-mushroom-food-lab-recipe
With an immersion blender, chop coarsely.
(Okay for this version, I only had 8oz mushrooms, but I suspect 16oz would be better. Time will tell.)
Spinach:
Thawed, drain, and SQUEEZE until absolutely all of the moisture has been removed.
Cheese Mixture:
Grate the mozzarella. In a large bowl, mix moz, ricotta, and eggs. Combine well, then divide evenly into two bowls.
Into one bowl, stir spinach and pesto.
Into the other bowl, stir mushrooms.
Refrigerate until assembly.
FINALLY! Pasta.
The sauce is nearly finished and the cheese mixtures are in the fridge. Honestly, at this point, I need a little sit-down. But then! Boil pasta for 4 minutes. Drain, plunge into cold water to keep noodles from sticking together during assembly.
Assembly:
This time, I layered, from bottom to top:
Sauce
Noodles
Spinach cheese mixture
Noodles
Mushroom cheese mixture
Noodles
Sauce
— Which is less sauce that I usually add, but I’m aiming for distinct layers. Also, those two layers of sauce were pretty thick. I’m not at all worried about not enough moisture. The remaining sauce (and the onion) will be reheated and served on the side.
At this point, double-cover the lasagna, and put it into the fridge overnight, to bake and serve the next day. Sure, I could bake it right away, but dammit. The entire kitchen, and every bowl, pot, and utensil is dirty, and I need a nap.
Next Day:
Take lasagna out of the fridge maybe 20 minutes before putting it into the oven. I like to top with a generous dusting (flurry? blizzard!) of freshly grated Locatelli cheese before baking.
Preheat oven to 350. Bake covered, maybe 45 minutes, maybe more or less.
Absolutely plan to take it out of the oven a solid 10 minutes before serving, at the very least. Can not serve lasagna right out of the oven. It needs time to rest. Lots of time.
Since my guests are due to arrive at 5:pm:
3:50 – remove from fridge, pre-heat oven
4:10 – start baking
4:55 – remove from oven