Spinach Lasagna

This particular recipe was a little time consuming. There are many steps to this recipe, but it it so worth it. This dish uses an Italian version of a Bechamel sauce, which is a French mother sauce. This sauce is actually the base for making things like Mac and Cheese and Alfredo Sauce. You can also use it to make sausage and gravy.

Ingredients

Filling:
3 Cups whole milk ricotta cheese (I used half non-fat ricotta cheese and whole milk ricotta cheese to cut some calories)
2lb fresh spinach or 2 10-oz packages of frozen spinach thawed
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup finely chopped spinach
3 medium garlic cloves
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste

Basic Cream Sauce:
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
1-3/4 cups of heated whole milk (I used skim milk to shave off some calories and fat)
Salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste

To Assemble:
Fresh lasagna noodles, store bought lasagna noodles or no back lasagna noodles (I used no bake, which really cut down on the time)
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 cup of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 Tbsp unsalted butter cut into small pieces (See Note)

Instructions

Making the Filing:
1. If using fresh spinach: place spinach in a large bowl or if using your clean kitchen sink, soak the spinach for about an hour. Try not to stir it. You want the sand, dirt and grit to sink to the bottom of the bowl/sink.

2. Using a fine mesh sieve or a strainer lined with cheese cloth, strain all of the water from the ricotta, while the spinach is soaking. Do this for about an hour or so, longer if the ricotta is particularly wet. We don't want a super wet mixture because then the lasagna won't hold up.

3. Once the spinach has been cleaned, cook in a 12inch skillet on medium-high heat until the spinach is wilted about 3 to 5 minutes. Drain well, squeeze out the excess moisture, and chop finely. If you're using the thawed frozen spinach, squeeze it dry and finely chop.

4. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-low heat and add the onions. Cook until translucent and soft about 5 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant about 1 minute. Add the spinach and toss to coat it with the butter. Transfer spinach mixture to a bowl and let cool to room temperature.

5. Add the ricotta, Parmigiano, salt, pepper and nutmeg and mix. Taste the mixture to make sure that it is seasoned to your taste. Then add in the eggs and mix until the eggs are fully incorporated.

Making the Cream Sauce:

You want to make sure that the spinach mixture is as stiff as possible because we will be using a cream sauce. If you're mixture is too wet, then your lasagna will not hold its shape.

1. In a sauce pan melt the butter over medium low heat. Add the flour and whisk the mixture constantly for about 2 to 3 minutes. This is a roux and we want to keep it blonde. If it starts to brown, turn off the heat and move the saucepan to another burner.

2. Slowly whisk in the heated milk and bring it to a slight simmer. DO NOT boil.

3. Reduce the heat to low and keep whisking for about 6-8 minutes until the sauce has the consistency of gravy and no longer tastes like raw flour. Add in your salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste.

4. If you're not using the sauce right away, then place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the sauce to keep the sauce from forming a skin.

Cooking the Noodles:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. If you're using fresh noodles, cook noodles 2 - 3 noodles at a time until they are tender and pale. Once cooked, stop the cooking process by carefully dropping the noodles in a bowl of ice water. On a clean kitchen towel, lay the noodles out so that the towel soak up the  excess moisture.

2. DO NOT add oil to the boiling water. It will only make the noodles oily and the lasagna will not hold up.

3. If using dried noodles, cook according to the package. Do not overcook the noodles, You want the noodles to soak up some of the moisture from the tomato sauce and cream sauce.

4. If using no bake noodles, do nothing.

Assembling the Lasagna:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a 9x12x3 inch baking dish or a 10x14x2 inch baking, spread a 1/2 cup of tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan. Cover the sauce with a slightly overlapping layer of cooked noodles or the no back noodles, cutting them to fill in the gaps.

3. With a spatula, spread 1/3 of the spinach and ricotta mixture over the first layer of noodles. Then spread 1/3 of the tomato sauce and 1/3 of the cream sauce on top of the spinach and ricotta mixture. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup of the cheese.

4. Add a new layer of noodles overlapping them slightly and repeat step number 3, using all of the spinach and ricotta mixture and ending with the cheese. Add one last layer of the noodles, top with the remaining tomato sauce and top with the cheese.

5. Dot the top of the lasagna with the butter and place in the oven. Cook for about 45-50 minutes until the lasagna is heated through and there is bubbling at the edges. Remove from the oven and wait 10-15 minutes before serving.


Note: I ALWAYS use unsalted butter for everything, even for buttering my toast. When cooking, you want to be able to control how much salt goes into your recipe, which is why unsalted butter is best. You can run the risk of over salting your dish.