When my Dear Husband had surgery a few years ago, we saw a steady stream of homemade lasagne arrive, thoughtful visitor by thoughtful visitor, pan in outstretched arms. It was a very touching parade, and we slowly and happily made our way through every last one. What surprised me was the fact that so many chose to make lasagne. Actually, I’ve found that many people who will tell you that they don’t cook, that they absolutely hate cooking, that they would never set foot in the kitchen again if they could, will in the same breath tell you about their lasagne. And lasagne is a pain in the keister. (Well, it is.) Wrestling with boiling noodles, trying to wrangle them and pat them dry without them tearing or sticking to themselves, well, it’s not a picnic, not to mention the fact that after making a traditional lasagne my kitchen usually looks like a call to home services might be in order. Nevertheless, I am a hopeless lasagne experimenter. My most infamous flop was egg pasta layered with a short rib ragu and béchamel. I was sure it would be delicious when I pulled it, golden crusted, from the oven. 
It was a doozy: way too much sauce, way too rich, way too much period. My family asked me sheepishly if we would be suffering leftovers. I spared them. My Honey Girl would prefer that I stick to my tested-and-true recipe, but I like to play in the kitchen. Beyond the obvious goal of increasingly delicious lasagne is my notion that lasagne really should be easier to make. I think I’m at least one step closer with this recipe. It sounds like a fancy recipe, but it’s one of the simplest ways I’ve come up with to assemble a pan without too much fuss and 86 pans to wash. You don’t have to cook meat, just slice a little salami. There’s a smear of flavor–could be olive paste or tapenade or pesto, something to add flavor without much work, or none if you buy ready-made. You whiz up an ultra-simple tomato sauce in the same bowl you use for the olivada–or buy a red sauce you like. Fresh cheeses add lovely flavor and richness. And I cut sheets of fresh pasta to the size of my pan before dangling them whole and as needed in a pot of boiling water ever so briefly. I assembled this in about 15 minutes. How do you like them apples, Rachael Ray?
Spinach Lasagne with Olivada, Wild Boar Sausage, Fresh Ricotta & Mozzarella, and Simple Tomato Sauce
Yield: one 9×13” lasagne
Ingredients:
5 sheets fresh spinach lasagne, cut to the size of your pan
½ c. olivada (recipe below)
2 c. simple tomato sauce (recipe below)
one small salami, about 7 ounces, thinly sliced (I used wild boar sausage.)
2 c. fresh ricotta (Shepherds’ Way Farms makes an incredible fresh ricotta if it’s available near you.)
3 large balls of fresh mozzarella
dusting of freshly grated Parmiggiano Reggiano
pepper
Method:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat.
- Set out a cutting board with a good length of paper toweling on it.
- Set up an assembly line on your countertop with all of the ingredients.
- Smear a couple of tablespoons of sauce into the bottom of a 9×13” ceramic or glass pan.
- Dip one sheet of pasta into the boiling water and wave it about for about 30 to 45 seconds with your tongs.
- Remove it from the water and transfer it to the paper towels. Pat it gently and place it in the pan.
- Assemble the lasagne in the following order, dipping each sheet of pasta into the boiling water as you need it.
¼ of the olivada
¼ of the ricotta
a few tablespoons of tomato sauce
½ of the wild boar (or other) sausage
another sheet of pasta
¼ of the olivada
¼ of the ricotta
a few tablespoons of the tomato sauce
a little less than ½ of the mozzarella
another sheet of pasta
¼ of the olivada
¼ of the ricotta
a few tablespoons of tomato sauce
½ of the wild boar sausage
another sheet of pasta
¼ of the olivada
¼ of the ricotta
a few tablespoons of tomato sauce
another sheet of pasta
a slightly more generous portion of tomato sauce
the rest of the mozzarella
freshly ground pepper
a generous layer of Parmiggiano Reggiano
- Place the lasagne on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil (to catch anything that might bubble over) and bake it for 35-45 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the top is a little toasted.
Olivada
Ingredients:
About 1 c. green olives
½ of a small red pepper
½ of a small yellow pepper
1 clove garlic
2 or 3 anchovies
pepper
¼ c. olive oil
Method:
- Puree all of the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor.
Simple Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
14 ounce tin of whole plum tomatoes and their juice (I prefer Bio Naturae or Muir Glen)
1 clove garlic
¼ of a small onion
a few fresh basil leaves
pinch of sugar
salt and pepper
Method:
- Puree all of the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. No need to wash the food processor if you’ve just made the olivata, since it’s all going into the same lasagne.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow. Looks absolutely delicious.
Want to pop over for lunch? xo
Wish I could!!
My lasagne story: while working with Somali children in North Minneapolis. I decided to do something with food and wanted to help the kids explore their culture. I asked them to share recipes of traditional Somali foods. Well, they did not come up with much. One boy started describing ” it has meat, beef I think and sauce and cheese and fat noodles, can’t remember what it’s called”
“Lasagne?” I asked. “Yeah, lasagne” he said. Did you know it’s a native dish of Somalia?
Haha. That’s funny, Mary.