I do make a regular lasagna from time to time with a Bolognese base but noticed, when going over past blog posts, that I tend to make vegetarian lasagna (for example, here - with the option of a bit of beef - and here with none). Today's lasagna is a bit of a mishmash as I am using the leftover sauce from this week's Pork Rib and Sausage Ragu as well as all the various greens that are languishing in my refrigerator. Lasagna tends to be a bit of a fridge foraging opportunity for me.
That doesn't make it sound particularly delicious, but it is. This is a lasagna for meat and potato eating men, hungry teenagers and anyone who loves cheese passionately. Definitely not for the dieting or faint of heart...
This recipe serves 4 hearty eaters with enough left over for the cook and her mother the next day.
1 package lasagna noodles
2 cups tomato sauce, Bolognese sauce or leftover sauce from Pork Rib and Sausage Ragu
2 cups Bechamel
4 cups greens (I used a mix of arugula, spinach, baby kale and carrot greens but anything you have to hand will work - beet greens are delicious in this as well)
1 lb fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1 cup Parmesan, grated
Make your Bechamel sauce, add 1/2 cup of the Parmesan at the very end and stir well to melt.
Preheat oven to 350.
Put a little of the tomato-based sauce at the bottom of an oven-safe dish. Top with a layer of noodles, a layer of mozzarella and a layer of the greens which you should salt lightly. Ladle over some of the Bechamel and repeat the process again until all your ingredients are used up, with your final layer being a Bechamel one.
Top with the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan and place in the oven. Bake for 1 hour.
After an hour, remove from the oven and allow to sit for 15 minutes before digging in.