Bacon. We’ve all been reading the bad press about my favorite pork product these days, but I’m sorry, I just can’t live without it. I noticed many things on the WHO list of verboten foods that I will eat much less of, but refuse to give up entirely. I have had several relatives who lived very long and fruitful lives on several slices of bacon every morning. Moderation in all things, as they say.
With this tragic news in mind, I decided to make spinach lasagna for dinner. It just seemed like the right thing to do. I took some shortcuts with this recipe and purchased quality tomato sauce in a jar, pre-made pesto, and store-bought fresh pasta. These shortcuts will shave off quite a bit of time. Here’s what you’ll need –
Pre-heat oven to 400-degrees.
1-24 oz. jar of quality tomato sauce (I used Bianco DiNapoli. There are two in the photo, but I only used one)
2 packages of Marina’s fresh pasta sheets (you can get them at Whole Foods), which equals 22oz. of pasta.
30 oz. of quality ricotta cheese
5 oz. baby spinach, chopped
6 oz. pesto (I used Cibo Naturals)
9 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced small
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup shaved Parmesan cheese (optional topping)
1 whole egg
1 tsp. Piment d’Espelette (optional)
1 tbsp. EVOO
1 tbsp. salt
1 tsp. chili flakes
Add the EVOO to the pan and bring the heat to medium. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, and then add the garlic and cook until aromatic (careful not to burn!). Toss in the spinach and cook until soft. Let cool.
Mix the ricotta, feta cheese, chili flakes, pesto, Parmesan, salt, spinach, and egg well in a large bowl. Set aside.
Cook the pasta according to package instructions, but remove the pasta before it’s al dente. You want it to be a bit toothy.
Add a generous spoonful of sauce to the bottom of the lasagna pan. Add pasta sheet to cover the bottom and then add ricotta. Repeat until you run out of pasta sheets and ricotta.
Pour the sauce over the top of the lasagna. If you choose, you can sprinkle the shaved Parmesan cheese on top of the tomato sauce. Cover the entire pan with foil and cook for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for 20 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown. Eat well!
Eat Well!
April
“Once again, my life has been saved by lasagna.” – Garfield