FineCooking.com

Spinach & Ricotta Lasagne

The ultimate vegetarian lasagne is made with a quick homemade tomato sauce and evenquicker besciamella (cream sauce) for layering with the rich spinach-and-ricotta filling. Made-from-scratch lasagna noodles are thinner and more delicate than store-bought, and meld betterwith the sauces. But if time is short, you can still get excellent results from store-bought freshpasta sheets or even good-quality dried noodles. To spread out the cooking, make the tomatosauce and pasta one day ahead, and make the cream sauce while you're waiting for the pastawater to boil. The assembled lasagne can be refrigerated overnight or frozen before baking (seeMake-Ahead Tips, below).

For the filling

1-1/2 lb. (about 3 cups) whole milk ricotta2 lb. fresh spinach, or 2 10-oz. packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed2 oz. (1/4 cup) unsalted butter1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)3 medium cloves garlic, minced1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano2 large eggs, lightly beaten1 tsp. kosher salt1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepperPinch freshly grated nutmeg

To assemble:

3/4 lb. fresh lasagne noodles (store-bought or homemade)1 recipe Quick Tomato Sauce1 recipe Basic Cream Sauce1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano1/2 oz. (1 Tbs.) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

TIP:

If time is short and you can't find fresh pasta sheets in your local stores, substitute 1 lb. of good-quality dried lasagnenoodles for the fresh noodles. Skip the cooking instructions below and cook them according to the package directions.

Serves eight to ten.by Joyce Goldstein from Fine Cooking Issue 82

Make the filling:

Drain the ricotta in a fine sieve set over a bowl for 1 hour, or longer if the ricotta is very wet.

If using fresh spinach, stem and rinse it well; don’t dry the leaves. In a 12-inch skillet over medium-highheat, cook the spinach until wilted, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain well, squeeze out the excess moisture, and chopfinely. If using thawed frozen spinach, squeeze it dry.

Melt the butter in a 10- or 12-inch skillet over medium-low heat and add the onion. Cook until the onion issoft and translucent, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add the spinach and tossit for 1 or 2 minutes to coat it with the butter. Transfer the spinach mixture to a bowl and let it cool to roomtemperature. Add the ricotta, Parmigiano, eggs, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Mix well. You should have about4-1/2 cups.

Cook the noodles:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare a large bowl of ice water. Slip the noodles, two or threeat a time, into the boiling water and cook them until they're tender and pale, 3 to 5 minutes (thinner noodleswill cook more quickly). To make sure they're done, taste a small piece. If it's still tough, it needs a littlemore cooking (fresh pasta should not be cooked al dente like dried pasta).

Carefully scoop the noodles out of the pot with a large wire skimmer and slide them into the ice water tostop the cooking. When they're cool, layer them between clean dish towels until you're ready to assemblethe lasagne (The noodles will keep this way for up to 2 hours).

Assemble the lasagne:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Choose a baking dish that’s about9x12 inches and 3 inches deep, or about 10x14 inches and 2 inches deep. Spread 1/2 cup of the tomatosauce in a sparse layer on the bottom of the baking dish. Cover the sauce with a slightly overlapping layerof cooked noodles, cutting them as needed to fill the gaps. With a spatula, spread one-third of the spinachand ricotta filling (about 1-1/2 cups) over the first layer of noodles. Then spread one-third of the remainingtomato sauce (about 1-1/3 cups) and one-third (1/2 cup) of the cream sauce over the filling. Sprinkle 1/3cup of the Parmigiano on top. Add a new layer of noodles, overlapping them slightly, and repeat the layersas instructed above, using all of the filling and ending with the Parmigiano, to make a total of three layers(you may not need all the pasta). Dot the top with the butter cubes.

Put the baking dish on a baking sheet and bake until heated through and bubbling at the edges, 45 to 50minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Make Ahead Tips

You can make the spinach and ricotta filling up to 4 hours ahead and store it in the refrigerator in an airtightcontainer.

The assembled, unbaked lasagne will keep for at least a day in the refrigerator. Alternatively, you can freezeit for up to four months (make sure you wrap the dish tightly with plastic). Thaw the lasagne in the fridgeand bring it to room temperature before baking.

nutrition information (per serving): Size : based on ten servings; Calories (kcal): 470; Fat (g): fat g 28; Fat Calories (kcal): 250; Saturated Fat (g):sat fat g 15; Protein (g): protein g 20; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 10; Carbohydrates (g): carbs g 33;Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 1.5; Sodium (mg): sodium mg 920; Cholesterol (mg): cholesterol mg 165; Fiber (g):fiber g 5;

by user-4284038, 12/23/2014 Method was easy enough and came together nicely. I would prefer a lasagnawith more marinara and less bechamel sauce next time. The onion and spinach gave a great texture, and everything fitperfectly in my le creuset, bubbled just to the edge. Used fine ingredients from DeLaurenti in Pike Place Market Seattle,but it didn't make much of a difference when it all came together. To the user that left a review on spinach - Spinachshouldn't take 2 hours to steam; more like 10 minutes if you use baby spinach leaves and steam them in a big dutch ovenor other large pot with a lid. Overall, great texture and flavor (if you like bechamel), I thought it drowned the other flavors ofthe dish and might use this recipe again, omitting bechamel for more marinara and parmesan (and add mozzarella andfresh italian parsley).

by user-3264279, 3/12/2014 This review is on the making of it...I did not bake it yet...It took a very long timefor all the steps...I am hopeful it will be delicious I have had this issue of Fine Cooking since 2006 and have been wantingto make it since then.

by ccduser, 1/25/2014 Speaking for the 6 members of my family, this recipe gets 6 out of 6 thumbs up. Idoubled the recipe thinking there would be leftovers for work, school, etc. But I was wrong, no leftovers, just 6 people invarious levels of pain from overstuffing themselves at the dinner table. Beware! This Lasagne is delicious

by ChezLana, 11/21/2013 This was fantastic. It was a great vegetarian dish that was multi-layered in tasteand texture. I used a high end jarred sauce to save time and fresh lasagna noodles. The big secret is to use fresh ricotta. Ialso added some mozzarella to the filling and the topping.

by JMHale, 9/6/2013 I added mushrooms to the spinach and ricotta mixture and it was absolutely exquisite.I will be making this again, for sure.

by YKDonna, 6/16/2013 This is worth the time it takes to make it.

by leigha7, 2/22/2013 This is a great recipe! This time, I used the spinach filling and cream sauce inconjunction with my meat sauce recipe, although the simple tomato sauce is good too. Just a word of warning whenplanning your time, I doubled the spinach filling recipe (I make 8 lasagnas in loaf pans at a time, and freeze them) and usedfresh spinach (tastes better), but it takes 2 hours alone to prep 4 lbs of fresh spinach. Allow for a 1/2 hour prep time perpound. Next time, I'll use 2 lbs fresh, plus two boxes of the frozen, chopped kind. All in all, this is a very versatile recipewhich can be used in many different ways!

by msdiane, 9/3/2012 Delicious lasagna. I must admit that I cheated and used my favorite jarred sauce as Ididn't have time to make fresh sauce the afternoon I was making this lasagna. Also used no-boil noodles. Really deliciousand incredible as leftovers.

by msdiane, 9/3/2012 Delicious lasagna. I must admit that I cheated and used my favorite jarred sauce as Ididn't have time to make fresh sauce the afternoon I was making this lasagna. Also used no-boil noodles. Really deliciousand incredible as leftovers.

by A_Mover, 3/7/2011 I've made this recipe several times now and get great reviews from everyone......including the meat lovers in my life. Making both the white and red sauce is a bit labour intensive but worth the effort. Mytime saver is substituting ready to bake lasagne noodles vice fresh and I really don't think it takes away from the freshflavours of the dish.

by plasticfork, 2/20/2011 Excellent recipe, easy to follow, delish and feeds a hungry crowd. Served it for afriends birthday dinner and Everyone loved it! Great vegetarian main course.

by bessieheath, 1/12/2011 Excellent special occasion lasagna, works well for a crowd. It's very rich. I'mmaking it again and will try it with no-cook lasagna noodles. I love homemade pasta, but the purchased fresh pasta is noimprovement over the no-cook, imo.

by atriola702, 12/21/2010 This is the best lasagna. My six year old is asking for dinner early today sinceeating some yesterday, and wants this for his birthday. I did use Barilla noodles and Rao's marinara(expensive sauce buttastes like homemade and worth it)as a shortcut.

by 1CaCook, 6/9/2010 This is absolutely the best! My husband wasn't excited about a meatless dish, butraved and raved about it. I used Prego spaghetti sauce as a time saver (using a thin layer) Next time I will make the tomatosauce the day before. Well worth the time this takes - this is now added to my favorites!

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by bdav1818, 10/29/2009 While this recipe does take some time to prepare, it doubles very easily if youwant to make extra to freeze or give away. I made the lasagne with two layers of noodles/filling rather than three and it wasthick enough to completely fill the disposable foil pans I used. If you are using dried noodles rather than fresh, I made themahead according to the fresh noodle instructions (by boiling them with a bit of oil, putting them in an ice bath, and thenlayering them between dish towels) - they stayed ready while I finished preparing the other elements. Perfect for fall as i isboth hearty and delicious. I will definitely make this again when I have the time.

by 70Okie, 3/29/2008 Excellent recipe but a bit complicated in terms of time to prepare, number of differentpans necessary to make sauce etc. I used fresh ricotta but did not drain nearly as long and precooked lasagna noodles.Helps to have two people working if all of sauces have to be made from scratch. Liked the fact that cream sauce wasmade with milk not cream. I cut servings and freeze seperately so can be thawed and used for individual servings. Be sureand freeze in single layer. Can be stacked after frozen.