We tried this Mark Bittman NYT recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/9616-spinach-lasagna?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share We used 4 cups of Rao’s marinara sauce (see Note 1 below), 1 ¼ lb fresh spinach, and twelve 6-inch long dried lasagna sheets. To parboil the spinach and lasagna, we boiled water in a low-walled Dutch oven, then first parboiled the spinach (one bunch at a time). After removing the spinach, cooling it, and draining it, we then boiled the lasagna sheets (6 at a time) for 4 mins; we then placed the sheets in cool water and then spread out in a single layer on paper towel-lined baking sheets. For the cheese, we used ½ lb hand-shredded fresh mozzarella, 16 oz whole milk ricotta cheese (see Note 2 below), and about ¼ cup grated Parmesan. We found the layering instructions ambiguous, so here is what we did: (1) lightly coat a 9×13 glass baking dish with olive oil, then spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the dish; (2) place a single layer of lasagna sheets (approx. 4 to 4 ½ sheets), 1/3 of the spinach, and ¼ of the ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan. Then add thin layer of marinara sauce (about 1 cup). Repeat step (2) once. Then (3) place a final layer of lasagna sheets (approx. 4 sheets), then add the final 1/3 of the spinach, and the remainder (about ½ of the total amount) of the ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan. Make sure the Parmesan is the final cheese applied and that it covers all of the ricotta. If desired, sprinkle some crushed red pepper and black pepper over the lasagna. Bake in a preheated 400 oven for 30 mins. Place under the broiler (on high) until browned (about 2 mins), then remove from oven and let settle at room temperature for about 10 mins. We served this alongside a simple celery and carrot salad drizzled with a simple French dijon vinaigrette, recipe here: https://piglettedc.tumblr.com/post/188332642411/french-dijon-vinaigrette-we-tried-this-recipe This was a flavorful yet not-too-heavy lasagna; we liked it a lot. (Oct. 2019)
Note 1: To reduce sodium, we have found that 24 oz Rao’s marinara mixed with 8 oz no-salt tomato sauce (for a total of 4 cups) works well. (Nov. 2020)
Note 2: We found that 15 oz whole milk ricotta = 1 ½ cups. We used 16 oz since that’s what we had on hand. The second time we made this recipe, our ricotta emitted too much liquid into the lasagna. The next time, we will strain the ricotta in a paper towel-lined strainer.
Cooking Adventures 