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Cheese and Tomato Lasagna

While removing both meat and vegetables from lasagna makes it a much simpler affair, it can result in a dish lacking in texture, flavor, and stature. This recipe upgrades each of the components—tomato sauce, cheese, and noodles.
Tomato paste, minced anchovies, grated Pecorino Romano, and a dash of sugar boosted the complexity and body of the sauce, while a small can of diced tomatoes added texture. We replaced the usual trio of cheeses with more-flavorful alternatives: We swapped ricotta for cottage cheese (mixed into a no-cook sauce with heavy cream, more Pecorino Romano, and seasonings), mozzarella for fontina, and Parmesan for Pecorino Romano.
To give the casserole more structure and bite, we used traditional wavy lasagna noodles, but instead of boiling them, we briefly soaked them in boiling water. Staggering the placement of the noodles in the dish instead of lining them up parallel to one another kept the casserole level.
Servings: 6
Author: America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients

Cheese Sauce

  • 6 ounces Pecorino Romano cheese grated
  • 12 ounces ricotta cheese Bellwether Farms Basket Ricotta Cheese recommended, 1 cup
  • ¾ cup heavy cream
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 ½ teaspoon cornstarch
  • ⅜ teaspoon salt
  • ⅜ teaspoon pepper

Tomato Sauce

  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 onion chopped fine
  • 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes Calabrain recommended
  • ½ teaspoon dried Mediterranean oregano
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 8 anchovy fillets rinsed, patted dry, and minced
  • 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
  • 1 ounce Pecorino Romano cheese grated (1/2 cup)
  • ¼ cup tomato paste

Lasagna

  • 14 curly-edged lasagna noodles
  • 8 ounces fontina cheese shredded (2 cups)
  • ⅛ teaspoon cornstarch
  • ¼ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
  • 3 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Instructions

For the Cheese Sauce:

  • Whisk all ingredients in bowl until homogeneous. Set aside.

For the Tomato Sauce:

  • Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat.
  • Add onion, sugar, pepper flakes, oregano, and salt and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are softened, about 10 minutes.
  • Add garlic and anchovies and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
  • Stir in tomato paste, diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, and Pecorino and bring to simmer.
  • Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.

Prepare the Noodles:

  • While sauce simmers, lay noodles in 9 by 13-inch baking dish and cover with boiling water. Let noodles soak until pliable, about 15 minutes, separating noodles with tip of paring knife to prevent sticking.
  • Place dish in sink, pour off water, and run cold water over noodles. Pat noodles dry with clean dish towel; dry dish. Cut two noodles in half lengthwise

Assemble the Lasagna:

  • Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.

Layer 1

  • Spread 1 ½ cups of tomato sauce in the bottom of the dish.
  • Lay 3 noodles lengthwise in dish with ends touching 1 short side, leaving space on opposite short side. Lay 1 half noodle crosswise in empty space to create even layer of noodles.
  • Spread half of the cheese sauce over the noodles, followed by ½ cup of fontina.

Layer 2

  • Repeat layering of noodles, alternating which short side gets half noodle (alternating sides will prevent lasagna from buckling).
  • Spread 1 ½ cups tomato sauce over the second layer of noodles, followed by ½ cup of fontina.

Layer 3

  • Create the third layer using 3 ½ noodles (reversing arrangement again), remaining cheese sauce, and ½ cup of fontina.

Layer 4

  • Lay remaining 3 ½ noodles over the cheese sauce. Spread the remaining tomato sauce over the noodles.
  • Toss the remaining ½ cup of fontina with the cornstarch, then sprinkle over the tomato sauce, followed by the Pecorino.

Bake and serve

  • Spray a sheet of aluminum foil with vegetable oil spray and cover the lasagna. Bake for 35 minutes.
  • Remove the lasagna from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 500°.
  • Remove the foil from the lasagna, return to the oven, and continue to bake until the top is lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes longer.
  • Let the lasagna cool for 20 minutes.
  • Sprinkle with basil, cut into pieces, and serve.

Notes

  • Do not substitute no-boil noodles for regular noodles, as they are too thin.
  • Alternating the noodle arrangement in step 4 keeps the lasagna level.
  • For a vegetarian version, omit the anchovies.