Spinach Lasagna

A few years ago my sister Regina made a delicious Spinach Lasagna. She got the recipe from my cousin Gabrielle. I made it once, two summers ago, and wrote down a few changes I made to the recipe, mostly that I tripled the amount of sauce and had to bake it at a higher temperature and for longer. I made it again today, but this time I used homemade lasagna noodles and it was even better! I also used Breakstone's Whole Milk Ricotta, which doesn't have the additives most store-bought ricotta has in it. It's just milk, vinegar and salt, the way ricotta should be. I always prefer homemade ricotta but I don't always have time to make it, so this was a nice alternative without any added junk. I also shredded a block of mozzarella rather than using pre-shredded cheese.

The recipe below is based off the recipe from my cousin Gabrielle, with the changes that I made to mine. This is a delicious meat-less meal, but you can easily serve it with cooked sausage links, bread and salad to make a complete meal.

Since this is a bit of a process and takes a while to make (it took me about 4 hours), this is what I did. I started out by sautéing the spinach. I let it cool while I began to make the sauce. While the sauce cooked, I made my pasta dough. While my dough was covered and resting, I blended the tomato sauce with an immersion blender, chopped the spinach, mixed the ricotta filling, and shredded the mozzarella. I used my new Marcato Atlas 180 roller and went to thickness setting #8. Once all of my dough was rolled out into long sheets, I cut the sheets the same length as my lasagna dish. I let them rest for 10-15 minutes before I started assembling my lasagna. I did not parboil them - there's no need to as long as there is enough sauce covering them. I used 2 lasagna sheets for each of the 3 layers. This was the perfect amount of dough for 1 lasagna plus a long sheet leftover that I cut into pappardelle for my son who doesn't like lasagna. I had enough sauce for 1 lasagna, the pappardelle, extra sauce to serve on top of everyone's pieces of lasagna and about 5 cups left that I froze for a future meal.

I had my sister and her husband over for dinner and between the 5 people eating lasagna, we only had 1.5 pieces left. This lasagna is so good and I'm sure I'll be making it again soon!

Spinach Lasagna

Adapted from Gabrielle Capobianco Feezer

Sauce: 

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

6 garlic cloves, minced

3 6-ounce cans Tomato Paste

2 6-ounce cans water

Red wine, to taste

3 28-ounce cans Whole Tomatoes

Salt and Pepper, to taste

 

Ricotta Mixture:

1 bag of frozen Spinach OR 11 ounces fresh Spinach, chopped

2 pounds Ricotta Cheese

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Salt and Pepper, to taste

 

Lasagna:

1 box Oven-Ready Lasagna Noodles or 1 recipe homemade lasagna noodles

1 pound Mozzarella cheese, grated

Parmesan or Romano cheese, grated - to taste

 

To start, make the sauce in a 6-quart pot. Heat the olive oil in the pot over medium heat. Add the minced garlic - be careful not to burn it. Cook for a minute or two and then add the tomato paste and water. Add red wine. Stir to combine and then add the whole tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, partly cover and turn the heat to medium low and let it simmer.

 

Before using the sauce in the assembly of the lasagna, using a potato hand masher, squish the whole tomatoes. This is more easily done when the tomatoes have been cooking for a little while. This will give a chunky sauce. If you prefer a smooth sauce, use an immersion blender at this point. Alternately, blend the whole tomatoes, tomato paste and water in a blender first before cooking it with the garlic. You can also use crushed tomatoes that don’t need to be blended at all, if you prefer.

 

If using frozen spinach for the ricotta mixture, defrost with warm water and set aside. Drain and squeeze out most of the water before adding it to the ricotta mixture. For fresh spinach, heat a little oil in a pan and sauté the spinach until cooked. Let it cool and then chop up the cooked spinach.

 

In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, eggs and spinach. Stir to combine completely and then season with salt and pepper.

 

Using a 9x13 baking dish, add a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan, then place a single row of noodles. Spoon half of the ricotta mixture over the noodles and then sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Spoon a layer of sauce and then sprinkle with grated parmesan or Romano cheese. Repeat this entire layer order one more time and then finish with another layer of noodles, topped with sauce and then finished with grated parmesan or Romano cheese.

 

Preheat oven to 350°. Place a sheet pan on the bottom rack of the oven in case any sauce spills over. Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil and cook for 30 minutes and then continue cooking uncovered for an additional 15 minutes. (Note: depending on your oven, you may have to cook at a higher temperature or for a longer time. I cooked mine at 375° but it took over an hour).

Fresh Homemade Lasagna Noodles

I've been wanting to make homemade lasagna sheets for a while and finally took the plunge today to use in this Spinach Lasagna recipe.. It was so easy! I did a quick search last night and this was the first recipe that came up so it's the one I tried. It's similar to the pasta dough I usually make except it calls for 1 egg yolk in addition to 3 whole eggs, rather than all whole eggs. This small change made the dough even easier to work with. As always, I measured the eggs to get to the correct weight of 185 grams. I was pressed for time so I mixed the dough in my KitchenAid mixer before turning it onto my wooden dough board, and then finished kneading it by hand.

While my dough was covered and resting, I blended the tomato sauce (which had been cooking for a while), mixed the ricotta filling, and shredded the mozzarella.

I used my new Marcato Atlas 180 roller and went to thickness setting #8. Once all of my dough was rolled out into long sheets, I cut the sheets the same length as my lasagna dish. I let them rest for 10-15 minutes before I started assembling my lasagna. I did not parboil them - there's no need to as long as there is enough sauce covering them. I used 2 sheets for each of the 3 layers. This was the perfect amount of dough for 1 lasagna plus a long sheet leftover that I cut into pappardelle for my son who doesn't like lasagna. I'm so glad I finally took the time to make these myself. It was very easy and tasted so good!

This was also my first time using my Marcato Atlas 180. This machine produces 180mm (about 7") sheets, compared to the Atlas 150 (150mm or 6"). The wider sheets are very helpful when making dishes likes lasagna, filled pasta like ravioli or hand cutting pasta.

Fresh Homemade Lasagna Noodles

Adapted from Emilie Raffa

 

Soft, silky, homemade lasagna noodles are at your fingertips! My recipe and method yields enough lasagna noodles to fit a standard 9×13-inch pan (or something similar) which feeds up to 6 people. You’ll end up with approximately 10-12 lasagna noodles. I use my Kitchen Aid stand mixer with the roller attachment in the instructions below. However, a hand-crank pasta machine can be used to roll the pasta dough.

 

300 grams Tipo 00 Flour (Molino Grassi or Caputo recommended)

185 grams eggs, room temperature (about 3 large eggs + 1 large egg yolk)

Make Pasta Dough: Add the flour and eggs to a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process to form dough, about 15-20 seconds. Remove to your work surface and cover with an upturned bowl for 5 minutes. Then, knead the dough into a ball, about 1-2 minutes (don’t worry about technique here, the food processor does most of the kneading for you). Cover again, and let rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour to relax the gluten. Use this downtime to set up your work station in the next step.

Set up your work station: Choose a large, clutter-free work surface to spread out (I like the kitchen table). Dust your work surface and the pasta machine/roller with semolina flour to prevent sticking. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper, no overhang. Cut 4 additional pieces to layer in between the lasagna sheets as you roll them out; set aside.

Roll Pasta Dough Into Sheets: Cut the pasta dough into 4 equal pieces. Flatten one piece into a 5×8-inch long disc (re-wrap or cover the remaining pieces so they don’t dry out). A rolling pin helps with this step.

Send the disc through the roller on the widest/lowest setting. This is “#1” on the Kitchen Aid attachment, but it might be a “#0” on other machines. Send it through a second time. Note: remember, if using a hand-crank pasta machine, refer to their specific instructions for rolling pasta sheets for lasagna. The process is the same, but the settings are different.

Continue to roll the dough through settings #2-4 (2x on each setting), dusting with semolina flour in between if the pasta gets sticky. You can also cut the sheet in half if it gets too long. The pasta sheet is ready when it’s slightly translucent and you can see your hand underneath, about .60 mm thick. For thinner noodles, go up to setting #5 (again, refer to the instructions for the machine you are using – I go up to #8 on my Marcato Atlas 180). Now, you’re ready to make lasagna noodles.

Cut Lasagna Noodles: Trim the pasta sheet to fit the dimensions of your 9×13-inch baking pan. For reference, I can get about (3) 5×12-inch long lasagna noodles from one rolled out pasta sheet, approximately 38 inches long. Your measurements will differ slightly from mine which is normal. The goal is to end up with 10-12 lasagna noodles.

Place lasagna noodles onto your parchment-lined sheet pan in a single layer. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper so they don’t dry out.

Repeat to roll and cut the remaining 3 pieces of pasta dough, 1 piece at a time so they don’t dry out. Layer the additional lasagna noodles between the remaining pre-cut sheets of parchment paper. When finished, select a storage option below.

How to Store Lasagna Noodles

At Room Temperature (1 hour): arrange lasagna noodles on a parchment-lined sheet pan in a single layer. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper so they don’t dry out. Layer and repeat, ending with parchment paper on top. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and store at a moderate room temperature for up to 1 hour. Alternatively, use an airtight container.

To Refrigerate (12 hours): arrange lasagna noodles in between layers of parchment paper as indicated above. Chill up to 12 hours. Fresh pasta tends to oxidize and discolor after this timeframe. However, this will not effect the taste.

To Freeze (1 month): arrange lasagna noodles in between layers of parchment paper in an air-tight container. Freeze up to 1 month. Defrost before using; they are easier to handle without breaking.

How to Dry Lasagna Noodles

Line (2) wire cooling racks with kitchen towels. Arrange semolina-dusted lasagna noodles on top in a single layer. It’s important for the air to circulate underneath the lasagna noodles. Let air-dry, at room temperature, for up to 24 hours. The exact drying time will vary according to season (i.e. faster in winter, slower in summer). The lasagna noodles are fully dry when they snap in half with a clean break. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Yield: 10-12 lasagna noodles.

Lasagna

Lasagna is one of those meals that is perfect for either an average night at home, to give away to a family or friend in need of a meal, or for a holiday. You can make it the same day you want to eat it, the day before, or even a while before and freeze it. I've always loved lasagna, but I really love it when my mom makes it with homemade ricotta (which is actually very easy to make). The photos below are from August but I kept forgetting to post this recipe - I have only made lasagna on my own once, but it was delicious. I made my own ricotta a day in advance, then made the bolognese sauce and assembled the lasagna and cooked it the following day. I also made a super simple dutch oven bread to serve with it.

Below is my Grandma Filomena's lasagna recipe, along with her bolognese sauce recipe. I always make my sauce a little different each time I make it. I usually use a mixture of half ground beef and half ground sausage. I chop the onion instead of browning it whole and I add 2 finely chopped cloves of garlic. Sometimes I also put 2 carrots and 2 celery stalks through a mini food processor and then add those to the sauce. If I have fresh basil I'll add some to the blender while blending the whole tomatoes. Sometimes I use cans of tomato sauce or other types of tomatoes, depending on what I have big cans of. If I have red wine, I add a generous amount to the sauce which makes it taste even more delicious. And finally, I add chopped fresh parsley to the sauce once it is finished cooking.

I made this in my Le Creuset 5.25-Quart Signature Rectangular Roaster, but it can be made in any lasagna or roasting pan. I chose to make it in this pan because the sides are higher than other pans I have so I didn't have to worry about it spilling over in the oven (but I still put a sheet pan underneath just in case). This made a lot for my small family of 4, so I gave some pieces to a friend and then we enjoyed the rest for leftovers for a few nights.

This lasagna was delicious! I hope to try it again soon and to one day use homemade lasagna noodles, when I can find the time to make them!

Lasagna

 

Bolognese Sauce: 

 

It is a good idea to make a double recipe of the sauce so that there is some left over to serve over the lasagna.

 

2 Tablespoons bacon drippings or olive oil

1 pound ground beef (chuck, sirloin, round)*

            * Variation: use part ground pork or add a piece of pork (browned)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 small whole onion, lightly browned

28-ounce Hunts Italian or Whole Tomatoes – blend in blender until smooth

6-ounce can Hunts Tomato paste

1 6-ounce can of water

Fresh parsley

 

Brown whole onion and ground meat in saucepan.  Add tomatoes that have been blended until smooth.  Add salt and pepper and cook for about 15 minutes.  Add tomato paste and water and continue cooking slowly for about 1½ hours.

 

Ricotta Mixture:

 

Mix together:

2 pounds Ricotta cheese

2 eggs, lightly beaten – increase number of eggs if ricotta is very dry

Salt and pepper to taste

 

½-¾ pound Mozzarella cheese (grated, chopped or sliced)

Parmesan or Romano grated cheese

 

Add lightly beaten eggs, salt and pepper to ricotta. This mixture is spread on the noodles. Mozzarella cheese and parmesan or romano cheese are sprinkled over the sauce.

 

Lasagna Noodles*:

Boil lasagna noodles in plenty of boiling water and add a couple of tablespoons of oil to water so that lasagna noodles won’t stick together. When noodles are al dente, drain.

 

13” x 9” Lasagna Pan: Add a small amount of sauce on the bottom of pan. Place one layer of noodles on the bottom of the pan. Spread one third of the ricotta mixture over the noodles, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, add sauce and grated cheese. Repeat the process and finish lasagna with a layer of noodles, sauce and grated cheese.

 

*Variation:  Use Barilla Oven Ready/No Boil lasagna noodles. Carefully hold each noodle in your hand and spread the ricotta mixture on noodle. Leave a ½ inch edge on one long side of the noodle. Spread mixture on next noodle. Overlap the filled long side of second noodle on the ½ inch empty edge of first noodle. Continue to fill the bottom of the lasagna dish. The noodles can be broken to the size that is needed to fill the space in the dish. Continue with cheeses, sauce and begin next layer. End with layer of noodles, sauce and grated cheese.

Bake 30-45 minutes at 350°.  Cover with aluminum foil first 30 minutes and uncover last 15 minutes of baking.

If freezing lasagna: Freeze before baking.  When ready to use, thaw and bake approximately 15-20 minutes longer than if baking freshly made lasagna.

Homemade ricotta!

Ricotta mixture ready for the lasagna

Homemade bolognese

Ready to assemble!

Ready for the oven!

Dutch oven bread