Slow & Steady Style Lasagna
Slow & Steady Style Lasanga uses homemade pasta noodles (use Brenda’s Manicotti Crepe Noodles if you don’t own a pasta maker), Brenda’s Spaghetti Meat Sauce, Brenda’s Creamy Garlic Sauce, and lots of love resulting in a savory, flavorful lasagna.
There's Quick Lasagna, tasty and plenty filling. Then there is Slow & Steady Style Lasagna, where every bite is perfection. Both are great to know . . .
The highlight of this lasagna is the delicate handmade pasta sheets.
Slow & Steady Style Lasagna
Step 1: Make pasta for lasagna noodles
Recommendation: if available, use a food processor to make the dough
Don't have a pasta roller? Brenda strongly recommends making Manicotti Crepe Noodles to replace the pasta sheets in this lasagna, it will taste just as amazing
To a mixing bowl, add:
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour
Sift together, then stir in:
3 eggs
3 tsp water
Knead until dough is elastic (food processor: pulse until dough is smooth).
Divide dough into 7 equal portions. Let rest 1-2 hours.
Step 2: Make Sauce
Make one batch of Brenda’s Spaghetti (or Lasagna) Sauce
To the sauce, add:
1/2 cup water
1 (7 oz) can mushroom pieces, chopped (optional)
Bring to a light boil & cover. Simmer until time to assemble lasagna.
Step 3: Put together cottage cheese mixture
In a medium bowl, combine:
16 oz cottage cheese
1 egg
1 Tbsp parsley, dried
Stir together until combined. Set aside.
Step 4: Make Sauce
Make one batch of Creamy Garlic Sauce, set aside.
Step 5: Gather remaining ingredients
8 oz cheese, shredded
1 (15 oz) can spinach, drained (optional)
Set aside.
Step 6: Prepare pasta sheets
Add cold water to a large mixing bowl, set aside. *To be used to cool the cooked pasta.
To a large pot add:
3-4 quarts water
2 tsp salt
Bring to a boil.
While waiting to boil, roll each of the 7 dough balls into a rectangular sheet, approximately 13"x9."
If available, use a pasta machine:
Run each sheet of pasta through at each number setting, flouring sheet lightly between rolls
Expected that final roll will be setting 7 (out of 8)
Dual purpose of rolling pasta and developing delicate texture
Roll each sheet to be ~5"x 26" then cut in half to create two ~5"x13" strips
14 strips will be enough to cover the 13"x9" pan for the 7 layers
If no pasta roller, Brenda strongly recommends making Manicotti Crepe Noodles instead of lasagna noodles
Boil sheets/strips in small batches for 1 minute. Remove from boiling water and put in cold water until all pasta is cooked and cooled. Drain.
Step 7: Assemble lasagna
In a greased 13"x9" baking dish, layer as follows:
Sauce
Noodle sheet/strips
1/2 cottage cheese mix
Noodle sheet/strips
Sauce
Spinach (optional)
Cheese
Noodle sheet/strips
1/2 Creamy Garlic Sauce
Noodle sheet/strips
Remaining cottage cheese mix
Noodle sheet/strips
Sauce
Cheese
Noodle sheet/strips
Remaining Creamy Garlic Sauce
Noodle sheet/strips
Sauce
All ingredients should be distributed evenly so that each layer completely covers the full 13"x9" surface.
Step 8: Cook lasagna
Bake at 350F for 60-70 minutes.
Making ahead? Prepare 12-24 hours in advance, once assembled cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until baking time. Swap plastic for aluminum foil. Place in cold oven, set to 350F and bake for 65-75 minutes.
Brenda’s Tips:
Serving size: 8-12 servings
This lasagna is totally worth the work!
Brenda and John both prefer the Slow & Steady style. It has many similarities to the Quick Style but the homemade noodles give it incredible flavor throughout the delicate structure.
Window to B’s Kitchen…
Quick Lasagna
Brenda has two lasagna recipes: Quick Lasagna and Slow & Steady Style Lasagna. This Quick Lasagna recipe can be easily made with boxed noodles. It can also be made the day before you’re planning to eat it.
There's Quick Lasagna, tasty and plenty filling. Then there is Slow & Steady Style Lasagna, where every bite is perfection. Both are great to know . . .
Brenda would periodically make lasagna for Sunday dinner when we lived in NYC. She'd put it together on Saturday night and then bake it to come out just in time for our guests to arrive. Add a loaf of fresh french bread and vegetables and it was the perfect menu for a leisurely dinner party.
After she married John, she adjusted her standard recipe to use homemade noodles as John preferred the thin delicate noodles to the boxed style. She'll still make the quick style when needed, but she also prefers the fresh homemade noodles.
Quick Lasagna
Make Brenda’s Spaghetti (or Lasagna) Sauce Recipe
To the sauce add:
1/2 cup water
1 (7 oz) can mushroom pieces, drained & chopped (optional)
Bring to a light boil & cover.
While sauce is simmering, in a medium bowl, combine:
16 oz cottage cheese
1 egg
1 Tbsp parsley, dried
Stir together until combined.
And gather:
16 oz pkg lasagna noodles, uncooked**
8 oz cheese, shredded
1 (15 oz) can spinach, drained (optional)
In a greased 13"x9" baking dish, layer as follows:
Sauce
Noodles
Cottage cheese mix
Noodles
Sauce
Spinach (optional)
Cheese
Noodles
Sauce
All ingredients should be distributed evenly so that each layer completely covers the full 13"x9" surface.
Bake at 350F for 60-70 minutes.
Make ahead: prepare 12-24 hours in advance, once assembled cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until baking time. Swap plastic for aluminum foil. Place in cold oven, set to 350F and bake for 65-75 minutes.
Brenda’s tips:
Serving size: 8-12 servings
For quick lasagna, the sauce doesn't simmer very long, but baking adds enough cooking time to meld the flavors.
Brenda's mom always added spinach to her lasagna and it is a great way to incorporate a vegetable. Canned or fresh steamed work equally well. Other vegetables can be substituted but consider the water content and adjust sauce if needed.
**If you prefer to use boiled lasagna noodles, only about 8 oz is needed. While gathering, boil water and cook noodles according to package directions. Immediately drain and add cold water to halt cooking. Set aside until ready to assemble, drain, then follow recommended order.
Homemade Soup Noodles
Have Thanksgiving leftovers? Make homemade turkey soup with homemade soup noodles. The noodles are easier to make than you’d think!
Homemade Soup Noodles
In a medium bowl, whisk together:
1 egg
2 Tbsp water
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup flour
Dough should be shaggy. Knead, sprinkle regularly with:
1 Tbsp flour, repeating, to total 1/4-1/2 cup
Once smooth, cover and let rest 15 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out as large sheet, about 1/16”-1/8” thick. Cut 1/4” rows to form noodles. Or use a pasta machine for same results.
Drop into boiling broth, keeping noodles separated to prevent clumps that won’t cook. Stir periodically.
Noodles need to boil 8-12 minutes.
Brenda’s tips:
Serving Size: 4 servings
Brenda often made this with her mother and learned that fresh noodles require more careful care. She learned to have broth at a rolling boil and to drop the noodles in one by one. You may question if the first-in will be entirely cooked and the last-in will be raw? Practice, you’ll get an entire batch added in less than a minute, even adding individually.