For ultra-defined layers, bake this deep dish lasagne a day ahead. After chilling it will slice easily, and still hold its shape when reheated. Rich and cheesy, this is best served in small portions with a tomato, red onion and rocket salad, drizzled with sweet-sharp balsamic vinegar
Abi is our former Junior Food Editor. An obsessive foodie with a sweet tooth, she is happiest when baking and is a firm believer that there is always room for dessert (preferably following a big bowl of pasta)
See more of Abigail Spooner’s recipes
Abigail Spooner
Abi is our former Junior Food Editor. An obsessive foodie with a sweet tooth, she is happiest when baking and is a firm believer that there is always room for dessert (preferably following a big bowl of pasta)
See more of Abigail Spooner’s recipes
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Ingredients
125g butter, plus extra to grease
500g leeks, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
600g baby leaf spinach
generous grating of nutmeg (from a whole nutmeg)
100g plain flour
700ml milk
75g Parmesan, grated*
1 x 250g tub ricotta*
10 fresh egg lasagne sheets
250g feta*, crumbled
15g pine nuts
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Step by step
Get ahead
Best made the day before, cooled and chilled (or frozen in portions). See step 7 for reheating.
Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Fully line a loose-based 20cm square cake tin with a double layer of foil and grease with a little butter. Cut 2 long strips of baking paper, 20cm wide, and lay them in the tin crossways, with the excess extending over the sides.
Melt 25g of the butter in your largest saucepan. Cook the leeks and garlic with a pinch of salt over a medium-low heat for 5 minutes until softened. Add the spinach (in batches if necessary), cover and leave to wilt for 5 minutes. Stir to combine, season with nutmeg and black pepper and tip into a colander over a large bowl to drain.
Melt the remaining 100g butter in a large pan. Add the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring. Remove from the heat and gradually add the milk. Cook on a medium heat, stirring continuously, until the sauce has thickened. Turn off the heat and whisk in two-thirds of the Parmesan, followed by the ricotta, until smooth. Season to taste and spoon out 2 ladlefuls of the sauce to reserve for the top of the lasagne. Stir the drained spinach and leek mixture into the sauce left in the pan.
Put the lasagne sheets in a heatproof dish, cover with boiling water from the kettle and leave to soften for 1 minute then lift out to a board. Cut the sheets to size so that they will fit neatly into the prepared tin.
Spread a thin layer of the spinach sauce (about one-eighth) in the base of the prepared tin. Scatter with a small handful of feta, followed by a layer of lasagne sheets. Repeat these three layers, seven more times, finishing with lasagne sheets. Spread over the reserved white sauce, then scatter with the remaining Parmesan and the pine nuts.
Sit the tin on an oven tray; bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown and bubbling. Rest for 15 minutes and serve, or see our Get Ahead tip above.
To reheat, preheat the oven to 190°C, fan 170°C, gas 5. Push the lasagne out of the tin from the base and cut into 9 squares. Place the desired number of squares in a large ovenproof dish, cover with foil and bake for 35-40 minutes until piping hot. Uncover and bake for a further 5 minutes to crisp up the top. Any other squares can be frozen for another time, then defrosted before reheating.
*Use vegetarian cheese if required
Serve with
Courgette and radish ribbon salad with basil dressing Roasted squash, olive, avocado and rocket salad Balsamic courgette, pine nuts and Parmesan salad
After the initial sauce layer, add a layer of pasta sheets, ricotta mixture (or bechamel), sauce, and cheese. Then repeat the layers. Top the last layer of your lasagna with sauce and cheese. You can also alternate layers of sauce and ricotta cheese.
You can make the spinach and ricotta filling up to 4 hours ahead and store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container. The assembled, unbaked lasagna will keep for at least a day in the refrigerator or you can freeze it up to 4 months (if it's wrappped tightly in plastic).
We love whole milk ricotta, mascarpone, parmesan, mozzarella, and fontina cheese. While ricotta is a staple in lasagna, combining it with the mascarpone creates the absolute best cheese filling. The result is a rich, creamy layer that perfectly complements the sauce and noodles.
A good tomato paste helps to thicken but also adds a sweet and savory umami flavor. Lean Ground Beef: Lean beef adds a robust and hearty meatiness that's essential in a classic lasagna recipe.
So, to achieve the perfect lasagna, the consistency of the sauce is absolutely essential. Both the ragù and béchamel sauce should be dense and creamy. Avoid sauces that are too liquid and slide to the bottom of the dish. A thicker consistency of the sauce will allow the pasta to be flavoured in the best possible way.
How can I keep lasagna from being a mushy mess? The best way is to keep your ingredients dry. Cook your pasta sauce long enough to boil out most of the moisture so the sauce is thick.
To freeze the lasagne, we recommend that you do not bake it before freezing. You may assemble the lasagne in a freezer safe/oven safe container, cover tightly and freeze. When you are ready to bake the lasagne, defrost it in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
You can replace the ricotta cheese with mascapone or a simple soft cream cheese. To re-heat, cover your lasagne with foil and re-heat in the oven at 190°C / 375°F/ gas mark 5 for 20 - 30 minutes for a defrosted lasagne. The lasagne should be piping hot before serving.
Leftover vegetable lasagna lasts in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. To make it ahead, assemble it and store the unbaked lasagna in the fridge for up to 2 days. (I like to add a sheet of parchment paper on top before covering the baking dish with foil).
Once you've layered your lasagna, you need to make sure you last layers (or top layers) finish with pasta > meat sauce > white sauce > mozzarella cheese. Yeah, that order results in a golden, crunchy and cheesy top with a layer of juicy meat sauce underneath.
Once the lasagna is ready, cover the pan with a layer of aluminum foil. Place the pan in the oven and allow it to bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil so the cheese can brown.
In the past I've had problems with the lasagna being too watery. I find that only happens when I used a combo of whole milk ricotta and whole milk mozzarella. If I use part-skim ricotta, it's always just right. The addition of cottage cheese may seem a bit odd, but it really does lighten up the texture of the ricotta.
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Prep time: 1 hr
