Lasagna with Salami
Serves as many as 12 for a first course, 6 as a main course

Diced salami, preferably Neapolitan-style sopressata, available at most supermarkets, substitutes for browned and crumbled meat in this recipe. Besides being delicious, using salami saves you from having to brown meat, which also saves you from having to clean another pan. Dried sausages like sopressata are often included in southern Italian baked lasagna. As an additional bonus, without the meat, the lasagna fills a conventional 2-inch deep, 13- by 9-inch baking pan. There’s no need to have a special 3-inch deep lasagna pan. I use Pryex, which will cook the lasagna at the lesser time indicated. A metal pan may require the slightly longer time.

1 box (9 ounces) Barilla Oven Ready Lasagna noodles, uncooked
2 eggs
1 container (15 ounces) ricotta cheese
1 pound mozzarella, shredded or coarsely chopped
1/2 cup (2 ounces) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, or a combination of Parmigiano and pecorino Romano
4 ounces sopressata (Neapolitan-style salami), cut into 1/8-inch dice or, if bought in slices, cut into dice
2 jars (26 ounces each) Barilla Marinara Sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the ricotta, half the mozzarella, and the grated cheese.

Spread 1 cup of sauce on the bottom of a 13- x 9-inch baking pan. (For this variation, a standard 2-inch high pan is sufficient. There is no need to grease the pan.)

Arrange 4 uncooked noodles over the sauce, placing them down the center of the pan, overlapping them slightly, and leaving about 1/2 inch at each end of the pan. They will not reach any sides of the pan, but will fill the pan when cooked.

Using a spatula, spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the lasagna. Sprinkle with half the remaining mozzarella and half the diced sopressata. Dot the top with 1 cup more sauce, then spread the sauce around with a spatula.

Arrange 4 more uncooked noodles over the sauce, then spread on another 1/3 of the ricotta mixture, and 1 1/2 cups sauce.

Arrange 4 more uncooked noodles, the remaining ricotta mixture, the remaining sopressata and 1 cup more sauce.

Finally, arrange the last 4 uncooked noodles. Spread on the remaining sauce, then distribute the remaining mozzarella.

Cover snugly with foil and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until bubbly.

Uncover and place back in the oven for an additional 5 minutes.

Remove from oven and let stand for 15 to 20 minutes before cutting.

Egg and Spinach Lasagna
(A Vegetarian Lasagna)
Serves as many as 12 for a first course, 6 as a main course

Instead of meat in this recipe, I added spinach to the ricotta filling and sliced hard-cooked eggs to the layers. This version fully fills a 2-inch high baking pan, but just in case it bubbles over a little, put it on a baking sheet so it doesn’t bubble over into your oven.

1 box (9 ounces) Barilla Oven Ready Lasagna noodles, uncooked
2 eggs
1 container (15 ounces) ricotta cheese
1 pound mozzarella, shredded or coarsely chopped
1 10-ounce box frozen spinach, defrosted or lightly cooked, then squeezed of all excess moisture (and chopped if leaf spinach)
6 hard-cooked eggs, each cut into 6 to 8 slices
1/2 cup (2 ounces) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, or a combination of Parmigiano and pecorino Romano
2 jars (26 ounces each) Barilla Marinara Sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the ricotta, half the mozzarella, the spinach, and the grated cheese.

Spread 1 cup of sauce on the bottom of a 13- x 9-inch baking pan. (For this variation, a standard 2-inch high pan is sufficient.)

Arrange 4 uncooked noodles over the sauce, placing them down the center of the pan, overlapping them slightly, and leaving about 1/2 inch at each end of the pan. They will not reach any sides of the pan, but will fill the pan when cooked.

Using a spatula, spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the lasagna. Sprinkle with half the remaining mozzarella, the arrange a layer of half the sliced eggs. Dot the top with 1 cup more sauce, then spread it around with a spatula.

Arrange 4 more uncooked noodles over the sauce, then spread on another 1/3 of the ricotta mixture, and 1 1/2 cups sauce.

Arrange 4 more uncooked noodles, the remaining ricotta mixture, the remaining sliced eggs, and 1 cup more sauce.

Finally, arrange the last 4 uncooked noodles. Spread on the remaining sauce, then dot with the remaining mozzarella.

Cover snugly with foil, then bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until bubbly.
Uncover and place back in the oven for an additional 5 minutes.

Remove from oven and let stand for 15 to 20 minutes before cutting.

Lasagne di Frutti di Mare
(Seafood Lasagne)  Makes 8 servings

For the cream sauce:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup flour
1 tablespoon tomato paste or sun-dried tomato paste
1 cup fish stock
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
Dash cayenne pepper

For the filling:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ pound lobster meat, cooked, diced
½ pound lump crabmeat
4 plum tomatoes, seeded, chopped
2 tablespoons dry white wine
2 tablespoons fresh basil, cut into thin strips
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Salt and pepper, to taste
12 Barilla Oven Ready Lasagne sheets
2/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs

To make the cream sauce:
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and stir for one minute until bubbling. Stir in the tomato paste. Add the fish stock, milk, heavy cream and cayenne pepper and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

To make the filling:
Heat the butter in large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the lobster and crabmeat. Add the tomatoes and wine and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes or until liquid is reduced slightly. Remove from the heat. Stir in the basil, chives, salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

To assemble:
Butter a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Place 4 lasagne sheets across bottom of dish. Spread ¾ cup sauce and 1 cup seafood mixture over noodles. Repeat this layering two times. Over the last seafood layer, spread the remaining ¾ cup sauce and sprinkle with the breadcrumbs. Bake for 25 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Note: Substitute shrimp or monkfish for lobster.

Fish stock can be prepared from fish bouillon or found in the freezer section of some grocery stores.

About Arthur:  The New York Times Magazine called Arthur Schwartz “a walking Google of food and restaurant knowledge.” As the restaurant critic and executive food editor of the New York Daily News, which he was for 18 years, he was called The Schwartz Who Ate New York.  Nowadays, he is best known as The Food Maven, the name of his website. Whatever the sobriquet, he is acknowledged as one of the country’s foremost experts on food, cooking, culinary history, restaurants, and restaurant history.

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Three Great Lasagna Recipes
Salami, Seafood, and Vegetarian