Made with Spicy Tomato with Fennel
A Very Good Lasagna
6-10 Servings
For me, a very good lasagna isn’t overly cheesy or too saucy or insanely indulgent—there should be a proper ratio of pasta:sauce:cheese so that each slice feels satisfying but also balanced. While I do love a creamy lasagna, I find bechamels a bit unnecessary and instead use heavy cream in conjunction with the ricotta and mozzarella to keep things nice and saucy. So, here it is, a recipe for a Very Good Lasagna. Nothing insane, no sneaky anchovies (just kidding—there are anchovies if you want) or expensive, hard-to-find cheeses. Just some good ol’ basic stuff layered in a baking dish and baked until melty, bubbly, and satisfying as well.
I do have two pieces of advice: First, don’t skip the two-bake process—the initial bake (foil on!) is the shorter of the two, only meant to melt the cheese and warm the sauce through, and the second bake (foil off!) is where things get good, and by good I mean golden brown, crispy-edged, and impossibly delicious. During this step the sauce will also continue to cook the al dente noodles, which makes for deeply seasoned pasta and eliminates any excess water, preventing a soggy, runny lasagna. Second, when you think you’ve baked it as long as you can, maybe bake it a little longer—the browner the better here.
Ingredients
Preparation
Do ahead:The lasagna can be baked up to 3 days ahead, wrapped tightly, and refrigerated (or up to 1 month, tightly wrapped and frozen—thaw before reheating). To reheat, cover with foil and bake at 375°F for 25 to 45 minutes.
More recipes with Spicy Tomato with Fennel sauce
Goodbye Meatballs
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