Ten Pound Lasagna
My mother makes a great lasagna, and I’ve often tried to emulate it but with only moderate results. Don’t get me wrong, they’ve been very tasty, just always lacking something.
So, I’ve come to terms with the fact that no-boil lasagna noodles just don’t cut it. Both Barilla- and Prince-brand no-boil noodles are good in a pinch; if you have the time, though, boiling curly lasagna noodles is worth it for better texture and structure.
The right sauce is also critical. I’ve been happy with Barilla’s Italian Baking Sauce; great taste and widely available. When I have the opportunity, I pick up a big can of Frutta! Di Orto Marinara Sauce at Cirelli Foods; 6 lbs. 11 oz. of the chunky sauce will satisfy two hefty lasagnas.
Morningstar Farms Veggie Crumbles provide the final kick, imparting a meaty flavor and hearty texture to an otherwise limp pasta dish. Non-kosher diners think it’s ground beef, and kosher folks don’t suspect a thing.
And then we get to cheese. I’m a purist when it comes to cheese in a lasagna: ricotta, Parmesan, and mozzarella. No cottage cheese. No tofu. No muenster. Just simple ricotta, freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, and shredded mozzarella.
Put all that together, and you have a whopping 10 lb. of “Italian noodle kugel,” certainly more substantial than any back-of-the-box recipe.
TEN POUND LASAGNA
• 2 cups part skim ricotta
• 2 large eggs
• 1 Tbsp. dried parsley
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 5 cups hearty tomato sauce
• 12 oz. (one bag) Morningstar Farms veggie crumbles
• 1 lb. curly lasagna noodles
• 1.5 lb. mozzarella, shredded
Boil lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
Lay two connected sheets of paper towel over a baking sheet, and then place a single layer of noodles on towel. Cover with a sheet of wax paper, then another double sheet of paper towel. Repeat with remaining noodles, like photo above, and let cool until ready to use. If some noodles have ripped, that’s fine; use them to patch up gaps, or cut them up and eat them separately.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix ricotta with eggs, parsley, and grated Parmesan. Set aside.
Mix tomato sauce with veggie crumbles. Set aside.
Pour 1 1/2 cups sauce mixture in bottom of deep 9″ x 14″ pan. A disposable aluminum lasagna pan works admirably.
Cover with four lasagna noodles, overlapped slightly.
Spread half of ricotta mixture (approx. one cup) over noodles…
…then spread two cups sauce…
…and 1/3 of your shredded mozzarella. Repeat.
Add one more layer of noodles, two more cups sauce, and one more cup mozzarella. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan, if desired.
Wrap tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 45 minutes.
Remove foil, bake for 15-20 minutes more, until cheese on top is lightly browned.
Remove from oven and let cool 20 minutes. Cut and serve, or let cool completely in refrigerator, cut into individual servings, wrap in aluminum foil, and freeze until desired.
BE STILL MY HEART! You’re using jarred tomato sauce?! Do I need to come over with some of my homemade stuff?
You don’t actualy have to pre-boil the regular noodles, either, if you don’t want to. Just water down your sauce a bit…the dried noodles will soak up some of that extra liquid while the lasagne bakes. (I say that, but I still always preboil my noodles.)
What’s your reasoning for overlapping the noodles? I always learned to space them out a bit, because they expand more while baking and will eventually end up butting up against each other.
Big props on the cheeses, though. Anyone who uses cottage cheese in hir lasagne should be shot (except for me, on Pesach, when I made a surprisingly tasty matza lasagne but didn’t have any ricotta, but that’s only because I don’t want to shoot myself.)
Spare me the hyperbole! I’ve made my own sauce plenty of times, for pizza and pasta, but I just don’t think it’s worth it. Commercial sauces have come a long way since the Ragu vs. Prego era. Plus, tomato sauce lives and dies on the quality of the tomatoes that go into it — fresh tomatoes are entirely hit-or-miss, so canned tomatoes get the nod. And as long as I’m using canned tomatoes, I may as well let Barilla or Unilever cook the onions and garlic along with it.
Come over and taste the lasagna, you won’t complain! Better yet, let’s do a sauce-off… homemade vs. store-bought.
(Oh, I overlap the noodles because my mom overlaps the noodles. And she probably overlaps them because four noodles don’t fully fit across the pan.)
mmmm…lasagna….
Just a few things:
1. Dried parsley? It’s just for the color right? Otherwise, what the…?
2. Try Don Pepino pizza sauce. (A la Wayne Campbell) It’s excellent.
3. Try the Gimme Lean sausage style fake meat. If you really give time towards crumbling and browning, it’s totally worth it, and lends a nice kick.
4. Instead of noodles, use 3 boxes worth of those Maccabee eggplant cutlets, and add some chopped spinach to the cheese and egg mix. Yum!
Like the recipe…and prefer the Morningstar Farm recipe crumbles (or use Boca, who has traditional style or Italian sausage style…you can use each!). It’s real good to brown the crumbles first in olive oil, fresh garlic, salt, pepper, fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano), chilli flakes, and…about 1/4 - 1/2 tsp turmeric kind of takes the nutty soya flavour out of the crumbles.
I’ll second the vote for the Don Pepino pizza sauce - nicely done, but not overdone, like many other jar sauces.
I’m in with the cheese opinions, too.
As for the noodles, neither the no-boil nor the boil ‘em kind are authentic. If I have to choose one, we prefer the Barilla no-boil ones. Now, for the real thing, if you’re very lucky, you’ll either make them from fresh pasta yourself or, barukh haShem, someone will get a clue and start making a commercial “fresh pasta” product line. There is simply no comparison, and once you’ve had the real deal, you’ll have a tough time going back…
-Nathan
I did spend a week making homemade ravioli, so I’m comfortable with making fresh pasta… maybe I’ll try that next time. Is on expected to boil the fresh pasta sheets first, or can they go in raw?
I recall we briefly boiled the fresh pasta sheets - God, they were good, and the pasta store was two blocks away up the street. I think you’re on the right track - perhaps I’ll have some fun and teach the kids how to make some fresh pasta and try it out soon.
This is the best vegetarian lasagna ever! My husband is a meat eater and even he loves it. I use fresh parsley and I love the taste it adds. Thanks for the recipe.
Does fresh pasta require kosher certification or can you buy any from the shops? Does this recipe refer to fresh lasagne or dried? Many thanks, Deborah
fresh pasta needs certification.