No Hassle Next Day Lasagna
One day, while I was struggling with a boiled lasagna sheet that had somehow adhered itself to itself and turned into an unusable pasta clump, I thought to myself THIS CAN NOT BE THE BEST WAY. Sure, there are no-boil noodles, but we all know those are lackluster and lacking in the wavy edge. Sure, you could make fresh pasta, but maybe you don’t want to. Sure, you could boil the noodles and then struggle with them to keep them separated and scald your hands, but now, you don’t have to do any of those things. May I present to you the No Hassle Next Day Lasagna.
In my downward-spiral thinking about lasagna, I eventually came to this conclusion: “I bet if I make the lasagna 15% saucier and let it rest in the fridge overnight, by the next day the noodles will have absorbed enough liquid that I can cook it normally and it’ll be great.” And you know what? I was right. Not only does it work 100%, it also creates more compressed layers and a less-liquidy, perfectly-dense lasagna. To rephrase… YOU NO LONGER NEED TO TO PRE BOIL YOUR PASTA NOODLES. You just need to assemble your lasagna the day before you want to eat it, pop it in the oven an hour before dinner, and BAM, you’re a hero. And yes, you can also freeze it after the day of resting in the fridge and bake it another time.
For me, the best lasagna is the Alice Waters Spinach Lasagna, from The Art of Simple Food. I love the fluffy ricotta layers, the creamy white béchamel and the simple tomato sauce. But, it’s a big ask for a regular Tuesday. Below is my deeply-modified version, which is also excellent with some thinly-sliced and sautéed fennely, spicy Italian sausage tossed in for good measure.
INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ pound fresh spinach
salt and pepper
2 cloves of garlic, minced
½ pound full-fat ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
¼ cup parmesan
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
½ cup basil leaves, thinly sliced
24-ounce jar of your favorite tomato sauce
1 package dried lasagna noodles of your choice
1 pound shredded mozzarella
LET’S COOK:
Grab a large pan and heat it over medium heat with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Add the spinach and a big pinch of salt, sauté until the spinach is lightly wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant.
Once the spinach is cooked strain it in a colander over the sink, or a mixing bowl to get rid of excess liquid.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the strained garlic spinach, ricotta, lemon juice, parmesan, half of the basil, and red pepper flakes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Pour a thin layer of tomato sauce into a 9-inch casserole dish; just enough to cover the bottom (this way the last layer of noodles won’t stick to the bottom). Give it a layer of noodles (it’s ok if they aren’t all perfectly arranged or touching).
Next, throw down a thin layer of ricotta, followed by another layer of noodles. Add a generous layer of mozzarella, a touch of black pepper, olive oil, and basil. (If you want to add some cooked fennel sausage, I like it in this layer.) Repeat the layers using this order: tomato sauce, noodles, ricotta, noodles, mozzarella, and noodles until you run out of noodles.
Cover the top in sauce and finish with any mozzarella that you have left. Seal up the lasagna with tinfoil and let it rest in the fridge overnight.
The next day when you’re ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F and bake with the tinfoil still on for 50 minutes.
Carefully remove the cover, turn the heat up to 500°F (or turn on your broiler) and cook just until the cheese begins to blister and you can see a little bit of crisping around the edges (about 4-6 minutes depending on the type of heat).
Let the lasagna rest for 15 minutes before serving. This will help make sure it doesn’t fall apart when you cut it.
Top with a touch more olive oil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and ENJOY!
[SERVES 4-6]