In May 2020 when most of us were under some form of lockdown, Samin Nosrat posted a lasagna challenge using her recipe she called Big Lasagna. It’s a detailed recipe, in stages nonetheless, of how to make lasagna from scratch, starting with the pasta then on through the bechamel sauce, the tomato sauce, and finally Assembling the Lasagna. It is a day-long endeavor, and it is well worth it. I halved the recipe because it’s just the two of us at home now, but it’s so delicious it entered my menu rotation. I’ve managed to make this lasagna recipe once a month ever since.

But as any cook worth her salt and pepper will tell you, she will tweak any recipe according to her own and her family’s taste. I do use store-bought pasta because I simply do not have the counter space to make it. Nonetheless, I have made my own recipe adjustments. I make my own ricotta cheese because it’s cheaper–and better tasting–and I use Cook Country’s Fresh Tomato Sauce because I prefer the taste of fresh tomatoes to canned. Moreover, my husband is an unreformed meat lover so I’ve added meat I grind myself to the tomato sauce. The basic recipe is vegetarian so here it is:
The Little Big Lasagna
Three Days Before Baking the Lasagna
Make the Fresh Tomato Sauce
Makes 2 1/2 cups
3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 kg ripe roma tomatoes (about 8-10 medium tomatoes)
Salt
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil
First blanch the tomatoes. Put a large pot of water on to boil. Cut a shallow cross in the end of each tomato opposite the stem end. When the water is boiling, slip 8 tomatoes into the water. Boil tomatoes until the skins split, 2-3 minutes. Remove tomatoes with a spider or slotted spoon and dunk in cool water. When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, peel them. Halve, quarter then halve each quarter. Set aside in a bowl. Repeat process with the remainder of the tomatoes.
Heat a large pan or wok over medium heat. Add the oil. When hot, add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add all the tomatoes and any liquid in the pan, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook down until softened, chunky, and the sauce has thickened, 20-25 minutes. Stir occasionally, scraping down the sides.
Remove from heat and stir in the basil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cool and refrigerate until ready to use.
Cook’s Note: If the tomatoes are firm, they will be sour. Add sugar to taste. To make the sauce dark red, add tomato paste until you achieve the desired colour. If tomato paste isn’t available (damn you, corona), use ketchup.
Optional Add-ins:
- To tomato sauce, add 300g cooked ground meat seasoned with Italian sausage seasoning: 1 teaspoon dried parsley, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 3/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon fennel seed, 1/4 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 tablespoon minced dried garlic, 1/2 tablespoon minced dried shallots.
- Or, add 1/2 cup chopped pancetta or lightly browned chopped bacon to the tomato sauce.
Two Days Before Baking Day
Make the Ricotta (adapted from Ina Garten). Of course, you can buy it but the taste of homemade ricotta is incomparable. It is rich and creamy. You will only need 300g for this recipe. Save the leftover 200g for spreading on toast, English muffins, or bagels.
Yield: 500 g
4 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream (36% milkfat)
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
3 tablespoons white vinegar
Set a large sieve lined with damp doubled cheesecloth over a large bowl. Make sure the bottom of the sieve is not resting on the bottom of the bowl so that the ricotta can drain properly. I put an upside down ramekin in the bottom of the bowl so that the sieve rests on it. Set aside.
Put milk, cream, and salt in a large aluminum pot. Bring to a full boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in the vinegar. Allow the mixture to stand for at least one minute to separate into curds and whey. You will notice a gray-green liquid in the pot; this is whey. If it is milky, add a little bit more vinegar to make more curds.
Pour the entire contents of the pot in the sieve lined with cheesecloth and let it drain, 20-25 minutes. The bowl will collect the whey. The longer you let it drain, the thicker the ricotta will become. Discard the whey or keep it in the refrigerator to make bread, substituting whey for the water in the recipe. Spoon the ricotta into a wide-mouth glass jar with an airtight lid. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
One Day Before Baking Day
Make the Ricotta-Spinach Filling
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
150g fresh spinach, ends trimmed, and chopped
300g/1 1/4 cups ricotta
85g/1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
42g/1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
10 large fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
salt and pepper
Heat large skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil and cook the spinach until it turns a bright green, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a wire mesh sieve to cool. Squeeze out the water. Chop spinach and set aside.
While spinach is cooling, combine ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, and basil in a large bowl. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Add cooled chopped spinach. Mix thoroughly. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Baking Day!
Make the Béchamel Sauce. (It tastes better on Baking Day)
113g/1/2 cup unsalted butter
64g/1/2 cup flour
4 cups whole milk
Salt and pepper
Nutmeg
Set a large heavy bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat and add butter. Once butter has melted, whisk in flour. Reduce heat to very low and cook 15 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent browning. After the mixture foams, slowly pour in the milk, whisking vigorously all the time. Increase heat to medium and whisk until the mixture thickens, 2 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper. Add a pinch of nutmeg. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking, whisking frequently, 10-15 minutes, or until the sauce is thick and smooth.
Assemble the lasagna
I use no-boil lasagna noodles. Softening them in boiling water before using them increases their absorption of flavours.
18-21 sheets of no-boil lasagna noodles, as needed
42g/1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
85g/1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 9-inch glass dish or baking pan
Heat oven to 400˚F/200˚C. Position the oven rack in the upper third of the oven.
Bring tomato sauce, béchamel, and ricotta filling to room temperature, or warm them, as needed.
Set a large pot of water over high heat. Cover and bring to a boil. Adding salt to the water is optional. Set a large baking dish with water near the stove. Cook pasta sheets 3 at a time, about 2-3 minutes, or just long enough to soften. Use a pair of tongs to remove the pasta from the cooking water to the baking dish of water. Rinse until cool enough to handle. Squeeze down excess water from each pasta sheet before putting in place. You will be making 6 layers for the lasagna.
Cook’s Note: Only do 3 pasta sheets at a time to avoid making more than you can use. Lay pasta sheets in a single layer in the pan, about 1/4-inch from the edges and each other to make room for expansion. Trim to fit if necessary with kitchen shears.
Layer #1: In the bottom of the dish, spoon about 3/4 cup of béchamel sauce. Use a silicone spatula to generously coat the bottom and sides of the pan with the sauce to create a non-stick coating. Cover sauce with pasta sheets.
Layer #2: Spoon ricotta-spinach mixture evenly over the pasta layer, just enough to cover, about 1-inch thickness. Cover with pasta.
Layer #3: Spread tomato sauce over pasta, about 1-inch thick. Spoon 200g/3/4 cup béchamel sauce over the tomato sauce then sprinkle generously with Parmesan. Cover with pasta.
Layer #4: Ricotta-spinach; pasta
Layer #5: Tomato sauce, béchamel, and Parmesan; last layer of pasta.
Layer #6: For the top, spoon béchamel generously over the pasta, getting it in the corners and covering the pasta layer completely. Lightly cover lasagna with a sheet of parchment and wrap dish tightly with foil. Place dish on a baking sheet to catch any spill-over. You might line the sheet with foil for easier clean up.
Bake on prepared rack 40 minutes. Take lasagna and baking sheet from oven. Remove foil and parchment; discard. Sprinkle top of lasagna with grated mozzarella and Parmesan. Return to oven to melt and brown cheese topping, about 20 minutes.
Cool 15 minutes before slicing and serving to give the lasagna time to firm up. But if you can’t wait, dig in.