Spinach and Tomato Lasagna

Amarante

Tue, Aug 16 2022, 2:03 pm

This was a delicious spinach lasagna - the tweaks of incorporating spinach into the ricotta element really upped the flavor AND was a great way to sneak veggies into those who otherwise wouldn't be eating their spinach. LOL

It really was a pretty simple basic lasagna but the directions are the usual very explicit ones from America's Test Kitchen to make sure the results are as good as possible

Spinach and Tomato Lasagna

Excerpt From: America's Test Kitchen. “The Complete Cook's Country TV Show Cookbook

Why This Recipe Works To make a spinach lasagna worthy of its name, we increased the amount of spinach. Frozen spinach tasted just as good as fresh and cut down on kitchen time. For the most even texture, we used the food processor to chop the spinach. For extra spinach flavor we included some of the drained spinach liquid (we combined it with the ricotta in the food processor) but not enough to make the lasagna watery. To keep the spinach flavor front and center, we nixed the traditional creamy béchamel in favor of a fresh, herb-Messed tomato sauce but still layered in plenty of mozzarella and Parmesan for richness.

SERVES 8 TO 10

Our favorite brand of no-boil lasagna noodles is Barilla. You can thaw the spinach overnight in the refrigerator instead of microwaving it, but be sure to warm the spinach liquid to help smooth the ricotta.

30 ounces frozen chopped spinach
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped fine
5 garlic cloves, minced
⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
Salt and pepper
6 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, divided
1½ pounds (3 cups) whole-milk or part-skim ricotta cheese
3 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1½ cups)
2 large eggs
12 no-boil lasagna noodles
12 ounces whole-milk mozzarella cheese, shredded (3 cups), divided

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Microwave spinach in covered large bowl until completely thawed, about 15 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking. Squeeze spinach dry, reserving ⅓ cup liquid. Pulse spinach in food processor until ground, 8 to 10 pulses, scraping down bowl every few pulses. Wipe out large bowl with paper towels. Transfer spinach to now-empty bowl; set aside.

2. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, ½ cup processed spinach, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper and cook until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Off heat, stir in 3 tablespoons basil; set aside.

3. Process ricotta and reserved spinach liquid in food processor until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add Parmesan, remaining 3 tablespoons basil, eggs, 1½ teaspoons salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper and process until combined. Stir ricotta mixture into remaining processed spinach.

4. Cover bottom of 13 by 9-inch baking dish with 1¼ cups sauce. Top with 3 noodles and spread one-third of ricotta mixture evenly over noodles. Sprinkle with ⅔ cup mozzarella and cover with 1¼ cups sauce. Repeat twice, beginning with noodles and ending with sauce. Top with remaining 3 noodles, remaining sauce, and remaining 1 cup mozzarella.

5. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil sprayed with vegetable oil spray and bake until bubbling around edges, about 40 minutes. Discard foil and continue to bake until cheese is melted, about 10 minutes. Let cool on wire rack for 30 minutes. Serve.

Keys to Spinach Flavor

For lasagna that actually tastes like spinach, we took a three-pronged approach.

1. Increasing the amount of spinach to triple the amount called for in most recipes guaranteed it had a distinct presence.

2. Adding some of the spinach water, from squeezing the spinach dry to prevent a soggy lasagna, to the ricotta cheese ensured a creamy, spinach-flavored filling.

3. Chopping the spinach in the food processor produced a fine, even texture that distributed nicely in both the cheese filling and the sauce.