Samin Nosrat Makes the Perfect Lasagna | Cook #WithMe | NYT Cooking

ricotta cheese

🥗Healthier: cottage cheese

💰Cheaper: cream cheese

Cottage cheese lowers fat content while maintaining creaminess.

ground beef

🥗Healthier: ground turkey

💰Cheaper: ground pork

Ground turkey is leaner, while ground pork is often less expensive.

mozzarella cheese

🥗Healthier: part-skim mozzarella

💰Cheaper: provolone cheese

Part-skim mozzarella reduces fat, while provolone is usually cheaper.

Parmesan cheese

🥗Healthier: nutritional yeast

💰Cheaper: grated Pecorino Romano

Nutritional yeast is dairy-free, while Pecorino is often more affordable.

Make a quick dough by mixing flour and eggs together, incorporating the flour into the eggs gradually.

Knead the dough with your hands until it is pliable and soft, then wrap it in plastic to prevent it from drying out.

Prepare the béchamel sauce by cooking half a cup of flour in a pot until it goes through three stages: silky mixture, foamy, and then thickened.

Add milk to the béchamel sauce and cook until it thickens, achieving a consistency similar to wet sand.

Cook spinach in a separate pot, then let it cool.

Grate 6 ounces of mozzarella and 3 ounces of Parmesan cheese, mixing them with chopped basil and a pinch of salt.

Roll out the rested pasta dough, ensuring to flour both sides to prevent sticking, until it is about the length of a 9x13 baking dish.

Boil salted water and gently lay the pasta sheets in, ensuring they are fully immersed before adding more sheets.

Rinse the cooked pasta under cold water to make it touchable.

Begin assembling the lasagna by spreading a generous amount of béchamel sauce in the bottom of the baking dish.

Layer a third of the ricotta mixture, followed by pasta sheets, then add red sauce, and repeat the layers, seasoning each layer with salt as needed.

Finish with a layer of tomato sauce, then cover with parchment paper before sealing with foil.

Bake the lasagna for 40 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Let the lasagna rest for about 30 minutes before slicing.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

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Allergens