The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science

(Nandana) #1

the ultimate version is what we were after, and we were
already putting in the not-insignificant amount of work
required to construct a lasagna, using fresh spinach was not
asking too much. Some spinach lasagnas have you blanch
the leaves in boiling water, then wring out the excess. Far
easier is to just wilt them in a pot along with some sautéed
garlic and olive oil. From there, a hit of heavy cream and a
grating of nutmeg is all they need.
Ricotta is a classic ingredient in an Italian-American
lasagna, but I find the texture to be grainy and bland once
cooked (mostly because store-bought ricotta just stinks).
Instead, I use a trick I learned from Cook’s Illustrated:
replace the ricotta with some whole-fat cottage cheese
pulsed in the food processor. It stays moist during baking
and adds great tang to the finished dish. So I added the
pulsed cottage cheese along with some chopped parsley and
an egg to the spinach layer.
For the mushrooms, I made a classic duxelles by cooking
chopped button mushrooms (you can also use cremini or
shiitake) down with butter, shallots, thyme, and heavy
cream. A dash of soy sauce added some meaty depth to
them, while lemon juice brightened things up. Finally, a
besciamella bound the whole thing together.
As with my lasagna Bolognese, using no-boil noodles
presoaked in warm water save you the trouble of having to
parcook the noodles. And, dear wife, I hope you like the
results, because it’s gonna be your lunch and dinner for the
next four days.

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