A dear friend gave me a copy of Alison Roman’s book, Dining In, and I bookmarked a few recipes I wanted to make for Sunday Dinner.
I asked you dolls on instagram which recipe I should do first and about 54% of you voted for this recipe.
I must admit, I didn’t know what I was signing up for when I bought the ingredients– this is an eight step recipe and each step has quite a few steps. I definitely pushed my Brooklyn kitchen to it’s limits, but I’m happy with how everything turned out.
I’ve never made a lasagna before and although this recipe can technically be made with any type of pasta I took this as a challenge to make a lasagna style dish for the first time. Overall, the recipe was worth it and I’d happily make it again.
If I could do anything differently, I’d cook the lasagna sheets a little longer. I’ll also tell you that after making it, I can see how cheating with a simple pasta would make this process a bit more simple– and equally as impressive.
So, if this is your first time making the recipe, feel free to choose your own adventure where the pasta is concerned. I can see myself putting this dish into heavy rotation either way… Here are my notes on this delicious recipe:
The Ingredients
- 12 lasagna sheets, fresh or dried, or 340g pasta
- Kosher salt or sea salt
- 1/3 cup (80ml) olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bunch spinach (about 280g), stems removed, leaves chopped (about 3 cups
- 1 bunch kale (about 225g), stems removed, leaves chopped (about 4 cups)
- 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 400g jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained, chopped
- 2 cups (480g) fresh full-fat ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup (125ml) heavy cream
- 2 cups (160g) finely grated parmesan or pecorino cheese, plus more as needed
- 225g good mozzarella cheese, shredded
How to Cook Lasagna Sheets
If there’s one thing I could have done better with this recipe, it was the lasagna sheets. I got nervous that they would stick together so I didn’t cook them as long as I should have. My brooklyn apartment has an electric stove (womp womp) and I used a deep pot, I cooked the sheets in three batches of four sheets at a time. I took each batch out at around the five minute mark… I probably should have left them in for 6-7 minutes. Why do I say this? The top layer of lasagna sheets came out a little more crispy than I would have liked, while the inner layers were perfect.
Yellow Onions vs Red Onions?
There are two things in life that I don’t buy– black shoes and yellow onions. Why? They’re both boring! This recipe calls for yellow onions, I knew I had red onions and shallots at home. As a rule, I will always replace yellow onions with shallots or red onions. I knew I needed shallots for my “Collard Greens for Carmeon” Recipe next week, so I grabbed my red onions and my new knife set and got to work. I am happy with the results. My herringbone cutting board is from crate and barrel.
Making Dinner in the Morning
This week, I spent my Sunday with Nascar at the Dover Motor Speedway for the DuraMax Drydene 400 NASCAR Cup Series Race. I was able to whip up this recipe before we hit the road and I have a sense of pride knowing that when we get back, this delicious home cooked meal will be waiting for Sunday Dinner.
I am learning that the best way to ensure that I have a home cooked meal waiting at the end of the day is to prepare dinner in the morning. Of course, this only works because I’m a bonafide morning person, so cooking dinner at 7am is fun for me– you can read my 10 Best tips on becoming a morning person here.
There is something so special about returning to my apartment at the end of a long day to find a home cooked meal waiting. Before we hit the road to the Nascar race, I got up early and created this recipe. Cooking dinner in the morning also gives my recipes time to settle and marinate with extra love. I’ve been waiting all day for the first bite and it did not disappoint!
