Ready or not, here it comes… The holiday season is upon us, and there are a million-and-a-half things on your to-do list: a house to clean, gifts to purchase, decorations to dig out of storage, family to host for the big meal next week – and how are there already Christmas carols on the radio?!
Pause. Take a deep breath. Now is not the time to spiral into a frenzy of takeout or frozen meals. You need simple comfort food, and if it can be made in advance and feeds that crowd about to show up on your doorstep, all the better.
Homemade lasagna is the perfect solution – and we promise it’s not as stressful as it sounds. Even with an infant, three other children and two full-time jobs, we still found this dish easy to prepare. You may be tempted to substitute store-bought ingredients (we understand; we opted to use store-bought ricotta instead of making our own this time), but this meal is a much lighter, more elegant affair when you take the time to make as much as you can from scratch.
Prepare the hearty ragu on Saturday morning (omit the sausage and double up on the mushrooms for a delicious vegetarian option) and let it simmer slowly on the back burner while you continue your myriad of Thanksgiving preparations. On Sunday, enlist an assistant to help roll out the pasta. It only takes a few minutes, and the taste and texture of fresh pasta blows the boxed stuff out of the water.
For those who want immediate gratification, assemble and bake your molten, cheesy creation Sunday night, then dig in with your prep crew. If this meal is meant to fortify you during the long week ahead, cover the unbaked lasagna in plastic and hide it in the refrigerator up to two days. When your Thanksgiving guests arrive, just throw it in the oven and enjoy a relaxing, stress-free meal that will warm and invigorate even the weariest travelers.
The Game Plan Day 1: Make the ricotta. Make the sauce.
Day 2: Make the pasta. Assemble and bake the lasagna.
The Grocery List* 1 gallon whole milk**
1¼ quarts heavy cream
1 cup 5 percent-acidity white vinegar
2 king oyster mushrooms
1 lb. Italian sausage
1 onion
5 cloves garlic
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
½ cup white wine
½ cup sweet marsala
2 28-oz. cans of crushed San Marzano tomatoes
3 oz. tomato paste
2 cups vegetable stock
1 sprig fresh thyme
6 to 7 large basil leaves
5 eggs
2 lbs. sliced mozzarella
½ cup grated Parmesan
*This list assumes you have olive oil, butter, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and flour. If not, you’ll need to purchase these things, too. ** Raw or low-temperature pasteurized milk is preferable, but ultra-pasteurized milk will work, too. Ricotta Courtesy of Blood & Sand‘s David Rosenfeld Makes 1 quart
1 gallon whole milk
1¼ quarts heavy cream
4 Tbsp. kosher salt
1 cup 5 percent-acidity white vinegar
• Day 1: In a large pot, gently heat the milk and cream until it reaches exactly 188 degrees. Add the salt and vinegar and stir once to combine. Remove from heat.
• Use a strainer to skim the curds from the top of the liquid and place them in a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth. Continue to skim every 15 to 20 minutes as curds form, until the whey is clear. Discard the whey or reserve for another use.
• Let the curds drain in the cheesecloth until the ricotta reaches the desired consistency, up to 12 hours. Ricotta will keep, covered and refrigerated, up to 1 week.
Sausage-mushroom Ragu Makes 1 quart
2 king oyster mushrooms, diced
4 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. butter
1 lb. Italian sausage
1 onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, diced small
2 stalks celery, diced small
½ cup white wine
½ cup sweet marsala
2 28-oz. cans crushed San Marzano tomatoes
3 oz. tomato paste
2 cups vegetable stock
1 sprig fresh thyme
6 to 7 basil leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Day 1: In a large stock pot over high heat, saute the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons olive oil over high heat until brown, 5 to 7 minutes, working in batches to avoid crowding. Remove the mushrooms from the pot and set aside.
• Add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter to the pot and reduce the heat to medium-high. When the butter melts, add the sausage and brown about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the onion and saute 3 minutes, until the onions are translucent, scraping the bottom of the pot to remove any browned bits. Add the garlic, carrots and celery and continue to saute another 3 to 5 minutes, until the vegetables are fragrant. Salt to taste, then return the mushrooms to the pot.
• Add the white wine and marsala and simmer until the liquid has nearly evaporated, about 10 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and stock, stirring until the paste is incorporated. Add the thyme, basil, salt to taste and several grinds of pepper.
• Bring to a simmer then reduce heat to low. Continue to gently simmer about 3 hours, stirring occasionally to prevent the ragu from scorching. When the sauce is reduced by half, season to taste with salt and pepper, and remove from heat. Ragu will keep, refrigerated, up to 1 week.
Lasagna Noodles Makes 8 large sheets
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 eggs
Special equipment: pasta roller
• Day 2: Scoop the flour onto a clean counter and make a well in the center. Crack the eggs into the well. With a fork, stir the eggs to slowly incorporate the all flour until a dough forms. Knead the dough, adding flour to the surface when necessary, until the dough is firm, about 5 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
• Unwrap the dough and slice it into 4 even pieces. Press 1 piece flat and feed it through a pasta roller on setting No. 1. Repeat on the same setting, then roll it through twice on setting No. 2. Continue feeding the pasta sheet through roller twice on each setting through No. 5. Cut each sheet of pasta in half, sprinkle with flour and place on a large cutting board. Repeat the rolling technique with the remaining dough.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Prepare a large ice bath.
• Drape a sheet of pasta over the handle of a wooden spoon and dip it into the boiling water for 20 seconds. Remove and plunge into the ice bath, then let drain in colander. Rinse under cold water to remove any starch, then lay the blanched pasta sheet onto a clean kitchen towel. Repeat until all the pasta is blanched and rinsed.
Lasagna 6 to 8 servings
2 cups Ricotta (recipe above)
3 eggs
1 tsp. kosher salt
Olive oil, for greasing
1 quart Sausage-mushroom Ragu (recipe above)
8 large Lasagna Noodles (recipe above)
2 lbs. sliced mozzarella
½ cup grated Parmesan
• Day 2: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
• In a bowl, whisk together the ricotta, eggs and salt together until smooth. Set aside
• Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with olive oil. Spread about 1 cup ragu in a thin layer on the bottom of the baking dish. Cover with a layer of lasagna noodles. Spread one-third of the ricotta mixture on top of the noodles, then sprinkle with Parmesan. Cover with a layer of sliced mozzarella. Repeat the layers 2 more times, then sprinkle the top with Parmesan.
• Bake 15 to 20 minutes until the top is browned. Lasagna will keep, refrigerated, up to 1 week.
-photos by Michelle Volansky
This article appears in November 2014.