There are endless renditions of lasagna: with just cheese, with vegetables, with mushrooms, with meat. Once you have mastered the art of cooking and layering the pasta, the filling can be your choice. But here I give you the Italian American rendition, one that you make with store-bought dry pasta. The major effort here is in making the Bolognese sauce, and in the Bolognese recipe I give you on page 158, you can make the sauce in advance and freeze it, all ready for when you decide to make a lasagna.

　　

Ingredients

serves 10 or more

　　Kosher salt

　　7 to 8 cups Bolognese sauce (see page 158)

　　28-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, crushed by hand

　　1 3/4 cups fresh ricotta, drained

　　1/2 cup heavy cream

　　1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped

　　2 boxes lasagna

　　1 1/2 pounds fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

　　1 1/2 cups grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano

　　

Step 1

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Warm the Bolognese in a pot, pour in the crushed tomatoes, and simmer together while the pasta cooks. Stir together the ricotta, cream, and basil in a bowl.

　　

Step 2

When the water is boiling, slip in the lasagna and cook until just al dente, several minutes less than the cooking time on the package. (Don’t crowd the noodles in the pot or they’ll stick; boil in batches, if necessary.) Remove the lasagna to a large bowl or roasting pan filled with ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain the lasagna, and lay the strips on damp kitchen towels, in layers, on a baking sheet.

　　

Step 3

Spread 1/2 cup of the Bolognese in a thin layer in the bottom of a 13-by-9-by-3-inch baking dish. Make one layer of the lasagna noodles so they extend over the long edges of the pan and meet in the middle, covering the sauce completely. Spread half of the ricotta mixture on top, and top that with a layer of 2 cups Bolognese.

　　

Step 4

Add another layer of noodles, perpendicular to the first layer. You no longer need to overlap the sides, so trim the noodles to fit just the bottom of the pan. Spread 1 1/2 cups Bolognese, half the sliced mozzarella, and the remaining ricotta mixture on top.

　　

Step 5

Make another layer of lasagna noodles, parallel to the last layer, then cover with 1 1/2 cups Bolognese and the remaining mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the grated cheese.

　　

Step 6

Add a final layer of lasagna noodles. Cover with 1 cup sauce, and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the grated cheese. Flip over the noodles from the edges of the pan to encase the last layer, and spread with the remaining sauce, which should be about 1 cup. Sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese.

　　

Step 7

Tent the lasagna dish with foil, and bake until bubbly, about 40 to 45 minutes. Uncover, and bake until the top is browned and crusty, about 15 to 20 minutes more. Let the lasagna rest at least 20 minutes before cutting and serving.

　　Reprinted with permission from Lidia's Italy in America by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali. Copyright © 2011 by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali. Excerpted by permission of Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. Buy the full book from Amazon or Bookshop.