A while back, I bought these noodles at Eataly. I didn’t really have a plan for what to do with them, but turns out they are pretty great for a deconstructed Skillet Lasagna. If you don’t have these small-ish noddles, you can always break lasagna noodles into pieces. Turned out pretty casual and good; a nice little riff on the standard lasagna.
Ingredients
4 cups homemade Bolognese sauce (my recipe is here )
1 package picaggue pasta (from Eataly)
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup fresh basil, minced
2 cups ricotta cheese
1/4 cup pesto (optional)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
2 cups fontina, shredded
You will also need a 12 inch pan. It can be non-stick, enameled cast iron or just a plain old pan, as long as it is 2 inches deep.
Directions
Make your Bolognese sauce. Because my recipe takes about 3 hours (2 of which are letting it simmer in the oven), I typically make this a day or even two ahead of time. You can use the finished sauce either hot or at room temperature.
Bring 5-6 quarts of water to a rolling boil in a large pot. Cook noodles until al dente. Drain and make sure they aren’t stuck together. In a large bowl, combine eggs, basil, ricotta, pesto (if using) and Parmesan cheese. Preheat oven to 375F.
To assemble, spread 2 cups of meat sauce in your pan. Layer with 12-15 noodles so that the surface of the sauce is covered, then the ricotta mixture, 1 cup mozzarella, another layer of noodles. Finally, place the remaining meat sauce, another and cover completely with the fontina. In total, you will have 2 meat sauce layers, 1 layer of the ricotta mixture, two layers of noodles and the top cheese layer.
Spray a piece of aluminum foil with baking spray and cover the lasagna, sprayed side down. Bake for 45 minutes. Uncover; bake 20 minutes longer or until the top is bubbly and golden brown. Let stand for a minimum of 10 minutes before cutting and serving (it is screaming hot and if you cut it too soon, it will merely fall apart on you).
