Ragu Lasagna

Note: This prep requires assembly the night before is refrigerated overnight! No need to pre-cook your lasagna noodles.

This is hands down my favorite way to make a lasagna. One day when I was struggling with a boiled wet limp lasagna sheet that was stuck to another one and causing me anguish I thought to myself “can’t I just not do this?” and it turns out the answer is YES. By simply using raw sheets/noodles and building the lasagna one night in advance, enough moisture soaks into the pasta that by the time you’re ready to go, the lasagna sheets are perfectly soft and full of flavor from the sauce.

This recipe uses leftover pork shoulder, but feel free to make it with ground meat of your choosing, or vegetarian!

Prep Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Yield: 4-5 servings

Ingredients:
Ragu:

• ¼ cup olive oil

• 1 stalk celery, chopped

• 1 carrot, chopped

• ½ yellow onion, chopped

• ¼ cup red wine (cab sauv works well)

• 1 ½  tablespoon tomato paste

• 1 teaspoon salt

• ½ cup beef broth

• ¾ cup whole milk

• 1 ½ cup shredded leftover pork

Ricotta:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped

• 5 oz spinach

• 16 oz tup full fat ricotta

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

• Zest of one lemon

Other Things You’ll Need:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 pound dried lasagna sheets

• 1 ½  cup shredded mozzarella

• ¼ cup grated parm

• 2 tablespoons chopped basil

• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Direction:

Ragu:

1. In a large saute pan heat up the olive oil over a medium heat and saute the onion, carrot and celery with a generous pinch of salt

2. Saute for about 5 minutes or until it’s nice and aromatic, then add in the wine and let it simmer and reduce for 5 minutes

3. Add the tomato paste and stir until its fragrant and deepens in color, another 3 minutes or so

4. Add in the rest of the teaspoon of salt with the stock and milk

5. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes

6. Add in the shredded leftover pork and simmer for another 10 minutes to let the pork absorb the flavors

7. Season to taste with more salt

Ricotta:

1. In another large saute pan heat the olive oil over a medium heat and add in the garlic followed by the spinach and 1 teaspoon of salt

2. Stir the spinach until it wilts and turn off the heat

3. Use the side of a spatula or spoon to press the spinach against the side of the pan, helping to squeeze out the excess liquid

4. Roughly chop the spinach and toss it into a mixing bowl with the rest of the salt, the ricotta, lemon juice and lemon zest

Assembly:

1. Grab a 9 x 9 pyrex dish and pour the olive oil into the bottom

2. Lay down the first layer of noodles and cover in ragu and a nice handful of mozzarella

3. Put down another layer of noodles followed by the ricotta, then continue to layer until you’ve used up your ragu and ricotta 

4. Top your final noodle layer with the remaining mozzarella and alllll the parmesan

5. Now, the most important part, this has to REST IN THE FRIDGE OVERNIGHT, that’s how all the layers hold together, the raw noodles absorb enough liquid to get soft and eliminates the need to pre-cook your lasagna noodles

6. The next day preheat your oven to 350 and bake the lasagna covered in tin foil for 30 minutes

7. Turn up the heat to 400, remove the foil and cook for another 30 minutes, or until the top is crispy and the sides are bubbling

8. Rest for 15 minutes before serving

Finish with fresh basil and red pepper flakes, if desired