Best Cheesy Lasagne

Let’s have some fun! There’s nothing like a home made lasagne to get the household together. This recipe departs from the norm - no bechamel (#shockedfaceemjoi)! Yet the Alison Roman-inspired dry mixture of ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan allows for easy application when assembling your lasagne (and less kitchen mess), and also creates the most gooey cheesy end result. When combined with Rob’s Great Bolognese, you’re onto a winner here. If you’re defrosting the sauce, aim to do this by transferring it into the fridge the day before you’re going to use it. And if time is on your side, reheat the sauce for up to an hour. You can make fresh pasta, or go with a store bought variety, particularly if you want to go GF.

Serves 6 housemates (incl. plus one’s)

What’s in it

2 pounds Rob’s Great Bolognese Sauce

1 14oz (400g) can crushed tomatoes

1 cup chopped parsley

2 pounds mozzarella, shredded

2.5 cups grated parmesan, plus extra for serving

2 cups fresh ricotta

¼ cup heavy cream

1 pound lasagne sheets

Sea Salt

Ground Pepper

EVOO

What you do with it

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Add the sauce to a pan and bring to a boil. Add in the tomatoes and stir for five minutes, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes, add the parsley, and cook for a further 5 minutes. Set aside.

In the meantime, set aside 1 cup of the mozzarella and ½ cup of the parmesan. Mix all of the rest of the cheeses in a large bowl with your hands. Season with S+P and lick your fingers. Set aside.

To prepare your lasagne, bring a large pot of water to the boil. Two approaches here: If you’ve made (or bought) the pasta fresh, you want to dip the sheets in for 15 seconds each before laying the pasta - do this as you go. If you’ve got dried pasta, cook the pasta for 5 minutes (or just before the lasagne becomes al dente). When cooked, drain the pot, leaving a little water at the bottom and use a little olive oil to separate the sheets.

To assemble:

1. Start with half a cup of bog sauce on the bottom and a good splash of olive oil.

2. Then carefully add a layer of pasta.

3. Next add a cup of the cheese mixture / enough to cover the pasta so it’s a half inch thick-ish.

4. Now back to sauce, again, enough to cover the cheese.

5. Repeat steps 2-4, until you’ve proportionality exhausted all of your ingredients.

6. The last layer should then be the mozzarella and parmesan mix you set aside earlier.

Sprinkle some sea salt and give a good grind of pepper over the top of the lasagne, cover with foil and place into the center of the oven. After 25 minutes, remove the foil, and cook for a further 10-15 minutes, or until the top layer is to your desired shade of goldy-brown.