Ragu Lasagna
Note: This prep requires assembly the night before is refrigerated overnight! No need to pre-cook your lasagna noodles.
This is hands down my favorite way to make a delicious lasagna. One day when I was struggling with a boiled wet limp lasagna sheet that was stuck to another one and causing me anguish I thought to myself “can’t I just not do this?” and it turns out the answer is YES. By simply using raw sheets/noodles and building the lasagna one night in advance, enough moisture soaks into the pasta that by the time you’re ready to go, the lasagna sheets are perfectly soft and full of flavor from the sauce.
This recipe uses leftover pork shoulder, but feel free to make it with ground meat of your choosing, or vegetarian!
INGREDIENTS:
Ragu:
¼ cup olive oil
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
½ yellow onion, chopped
¼ cup red wine (cab sauv works well)
1 ½ tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup beef broth
¾ cup whole milk
1 ½ cup shredded leftover pork
Ricotta:
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
5 oz spinach
16 oz tub full fat ricotta
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Zest of one lemon
Other Things You’ll Need:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound dried lasagna sheets
1 ½ cup shredded mozzarella
¼ cup grated parm
2 tablespoons chopped basil
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
LET’S COOK:
Ragu
In a large saute pan heat up the olive oil over a medium heat and saute the onion, carrot and celery with a generous pinch of salt
Saute for about 5 minutes or until it’s nice and aromatic, then add in the wine and let it simmer and reduce for 5 minutes
Add the tomato paste and stir until its fragrant and deepens in color, another 3 minutes or so
Add in the rest of the teaspoon of salt with the stock and milk
Simmer until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes
Add in the shredded leftover pork and simmer for another 10 minutes to let the pork absorb the flavors
Season to taste with more salt
Ricotta
In another large saute pan heat the olive oil over a medium heat and add in the garlic followed by the spinach and 1 teaspoon of salt
Stir the spinach until it wilts and turn off the heat
Use the side of a spatula or spoon to press the spinach against the side of the pan, helping to squeeze out the excess liquid
Roughly chop the spinach and toss it into a mixing bowl with the rest of the salt, the ricotta, lemon juice and lemon zest
Assembly
Grab a 9 x 9 pyrex dish and pour the olive oil into the bottom
Lay down the first layer of noodles and cover in ragu and a nice handful of mozzarella
Put down another layer of noodles followed by the ricotta, then continue to layer until you’ve used up your ragu and ricotta
Top your final noodle layer with the remaining mozzarella and alllll the parmesan
Now, the most important part, this has to REST IN THE FRIDGE OVERNIGHT, that’s how all the layers hold together, the raw noodles absorb enough liquid to get soft and eliminates the need to pre-cook your lasagna noodles
The next day preheat your oven to 350 and bake the lasagna covered in tin foil for 30 minutes
Turn up the heat to 400, remove the foil and cook for another 30 minutes, or until the top is crispy and the sides are bubbling
Rest for 15 minutes before serving
Finish with fresh basil and red pepper flakes, if desired
[SERVES 4-5]