One overarching concern dissuades more cooks from making Lasagne than any other: the work and time involved. But today’s featured recipe will take some of the drudgery out of making Lasagne. And thereby add to the enjoyment you’ll get from it!
Lasagne is the most popular Italian dish, world-wide, after pizza. And no wonder, since it embodies many of the same classic ingredients and oven-baked heritage…
Universal appeal
Everybody seems to love the layered classic. Well… I’ve never met anyone who didn’t. But that’s beside the point.
More people would get to enjoy it if it didn’t take all afternoon to make. And recipe contributor Francesca Zani has done her best to streamline the process for us.
Zani’s take…
Assuming you already know how to make Lasagne the traditional way, I’m going to jump right to the place in Zani’s recipe where she runs down her shortcuts, tips and hacks…
“For all other lasagnas, I would advise against pre-shredded mozzarella and no-bake noodles, but I’m breaking all the rules for this time-saving recipe,” Zani admits. “We’re using jarred marinara sauce here, and while we’ll be enhancing it with rendered ground beef fat, olive oil, more garlic, and basil, I strongly recommend choosing a well-made sauce. Rao’s is a fan (and my personal) favorite, but any other store-bought marinara you enjoy will work.
“Creamy ricotta (like Calabro or Liuzzi) creates cloud-like pockets of cheese in the lasagna, making every bite just as satisfying,” she adds. “I highly recommend seasoning as you go, and I’m not just talking about salt – Parm too!”
Zani’s technique…
… Involves a high-sided skillet – preferably cast iron, with an oven-resistant handle. Because the dish does go in the oven.
The whole process counts only 4 steps but some of them – particularly the first one – seem to embo-dy several ‘sub-steps’. It involves scrambling the ground beef, toasting the garlic, tossing in some Basil, and mixing-in the jarred Marinara Sauce. Pretty simple, just the same.
One time-saver: The Parmesan, Mozz and noodles go right into the beef-and-sauce mixture!
The real economizer in this Lasagne recipe is the assembly stage: “In a small bowl, combine ricotta and remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan. Dollop half of ricotta mixture over pasta and gently stir; you don’t want to mix in too much, just gently fold pasta and sauce over the dollops. Dollop remaining ricotta over. Sprinkle with remaining 2 cups mozzarella.”
Bake in a pre-heated 375 F oven until the sauce bubbles up around the edges, and the top develops those lasagne-characteristic browned spots. That should take no more than 30 to 35 minutes.
Serving tips…
Don’t try to cut the Lazy Lasagne. Instead, spoon it into wide-rimmed (soup) bowls, rather than onto plates. It’s a rather saucy dish compared to traditional Lazagne. And you’ll want to provide crusty Italian bread for sopping up the sauce.
Serve a simple tossed salad on the side to balance out the nutritional profile of the meal. A Caprese or Panzanella coordinates nicely. But a simple tossed salad with Italian vinaigrette is also classic.
My take
This ‘Lazy Lasagne’ evokes the simplest form of the dish, yet contains all the ingredients traditional to authentic Lasagne. Depending on the specific jarred Marinara you use, you might want to add a pinch of sugar to the sauce before adding the noodles and cheese. But that’s all that comes between this super-easy dish and the true, authentic Lasagne flavour and texture experience…
~ Maggie J.