Ingredients: |
Ingredients: SPINACH:
1 tbsp table salt
20 ounces curly spinach (2 bags) stemmed and rinsed
BECHAMEL:
5 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp unsalted butter for baking dish
5 lg shallots, minced (or minced onion) about 1 cup
4 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (generous 1 tbsp)
1/4 c all-purpose flour
3 1/2 c whole milk
2 bay leaves
3/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
CHEESES AND PASTA:
8 oz whole milk cottage cheese
1 large egg
1/4 tsp table salt
12 lasagna noodles
8 oz Italian fontina cheese, shredded, appr. 2 c (or mozzarella)
|
Directions: |
Directions:For the spinach: cook the spinach and salt until just wilted, only 5 seconds. Using mesh strainer, transfer spinach to some ice water and let stand until cool, about 1 minute. Then drain spinach and transfer to clean kitchen bowl. Wrap towel tightly around the spinach to form a ball and wring until dry. Chop spinach and set aside.
For the béchamel: melt 5 tbsp butter until foaming in medium saucepan over medium heat; add shallots (onion) and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 1/2 minutes. Do not brown. Gradually whisk in milk. Bring mixture to boil over medium-high heat, whisk in bay leaves, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes, whisking occasionally. Whisk in Parmesan and discard bay leaves. Transfer sauce to bowl, press plastic wrap directly against surface, and set aside.
For the cheeses, pasta and assembly: Blend cottage cheese, egg, and salt in food processor until smooth, 30 seconds. Transfer to bowl and set aside. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Cook noodles in bowl on stovetop until al dente and drain well, separating so they won't stick together. Coat a 9x13 baking dish with 1 tbsp butter. Use rubber spatula to distribute 1/2 c béchamel in bottom of baking dish; position 3 noodles on top of sauce. Stir spinach into remaning béchamel in bowl, mixing well to break up lumps of spinach (you should have about 4 c spinach/bechamel mixture). Spread 1 c spinach mixture evenly over noodles, sprinkle evenly with parmesan, and top with 3 more noodles. Spread 1 c spinach mixture evenly over noodles, sprinkle evenly with 1 c shredded fontina (or mozzarella), and top with 3 more noodles. Spread 1 c spinach mixture evenly over noodles, followed by cottage cheese mixture. Finish with 3 noodles, remaining cup spinach mixture, and remaining cup fontina. Lightly spray large sheet foil with nonstick cooking spray and cover lasagna. Bake until bubbling, about 20 minutes, then remove foil. Remove lasagna and adjust oven rack to uppermost position and heat broiler. Broil lasagna until cheese is spotty brown, 4-6 minutes. Cool 10 minutes, cut into pieces and serve. An America’s Test Kitchen recipe. |
This recipe for Spinach Lasagna is from