This many layer lasagna is not simple to make, but worth the effort for a lasagna of more than a dozen layers that’s incredibly light and tender.
Some households make ham or turkey for Christmas, serving it up with stuffing and sweet potatoes, much like a second Thanksgiving dinner. In my Italian American household, we make lasagna for Christmas. I’m not sure when or how the tradition started, but I do know that lasagna happens to be a great make-ahead meal to serve a big crowd, and therefor perfect for Christmas. My brother Ben is usually in charge of making it, and every year he likes to try something just a little bit different. This year, the many layer lasagna at I Sodi, one of the best Italian restaurants in NYC, was his inspiration. We’ve never had it, but from everything we’ve heard, it’s just about the best lasagna most people have ever had. And in all honesty, I can say the same thing about our homemade version.
FITTING IN ALL THE LAYERS
Generally, lasagna has about 3 or 4 layers of pasta, with sauce, ricotta cheese, mozzarella, béchamel, and sometimes meat or even meatballs or sausage between those layers. Our many layer lasagna has around 12 layers of pasta, or even more depending on how thin you end up rolling the dough. This makes for a light, almost custardy lasagna, and one unlike any lasagna you’ve had before. So what exactly allows it to have so many layers?
Well, that comes from a few different things. For one, we used homemade pasta sheets and rolled them out incredibly thin, making this lasagna super light and tender. And most lasagnas use a meat sauce (bolognese) in between the layers. We chose to use a simple thin tomato sauce, to reduce some of the bulk between those layers, along with the traditional creamy béchamel. And we actually skipped the cheese – both ricotta and mozzarella – between the layers to get them even thinner. Instead, we baked the lasagna initially with just some parmesan on top, let it rest out of the oven (to really solidify all those layers), and then re-baked it with gooey mozzarella.
The result is a lasagna that is light and tender, with about a dozen layers bursting with flavor. Since my household happens to still like lasagna with meat sauce, we chose to top ours with a bolognese for some extra savory flavor. And while making this dish is no small feat (I’ll go into detail below), I think it’s one thousand percent worth the effort. Plus, you can make it all the day or even two days before and simply heat it to serve, making it the perfect dish for a crowd.
WORTH THE EFFORT FOR THE LIGHTEST LASAGNA
You can probably tell by the length of my recipe below just how involved making this lasagna truly is. But trust me when I say the end result is totally worth it. This was most definitely the best lasagna I’ve ever had. And don’t get too scared of that recipe; while we chose to make every last thing from scratch, you could cut a few corners. Instead of making a homemade tomato sauce, you can use totally use a good quality jarred sauce. And same goes for the meat sauce topping. Simply simmer a good jarred tomato sauce with some browned beef or pork for a few minutes, and you have a totally delicious meat sauce for serving your lasagna. And if you wanted to make this recipe completely vegetarian, you could simply leave out the meat.
The one thing I’ll say to not cut corners on when making this lasagna is rolling out your own pasta sheets. Yes, you can buy pasta sheets in the grocery store, even fresh ones, but what gives this dish so many layers is the fact that the sheets are rolled out insanely thin, practically translucent. Honestly, I didn’t even know that people used the thinnest setting on their pasta rollers until we made this lasagna. Yes, making a pasta dough and rolling out each sheet is a lot of work. And especially in this recipe, because you’ll need to roll each sheet and then layer it before rolling the next, since you run the risk of tearing the sheets if you let them sit. But like I said, it’s totally worth it, and if you’re using the kitchen aid pasta roller attachment like we do, it’s actually not that hard.
Many Layer Lasagna
Equipment
- 9×5 loaf pan
- pasta roller machine
Ingredients
For the tomato sauce (alternatively, you can use 1 16oz jar of good quality jarred tomato sauce)
- 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 dried herbs for seasoning (oregano, basil, thyme)
- salt and pepper
For the bechamel
- 4 tbsp butter
- 4 tbsp flour
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- salt and pepper
For the fresh pasta
- 8 oz semolina flour
- 8 oz double zero flour
- 1 egg yolk
- water
For assembling the lasagna
- 2 cups tomato sauce (see recipe)
- 2 cups bechamel (see recipe)
- fresh pasta (see recipe)
- about 1/4 cup grated parmesan
For the meat sauce (optional; alternatively, use a second serving of the tomato sauce recipe found above or a good quality jarred tomato sauce)
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 lb ground beef or pork
- 1 onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- dried herbs for seasoning (oregano, basil, thyme)
- salt and pepper
- fresh basil and parsley, minced
For serving the lasagna
- 8 oz shredded or thinly slice mozarella
- 2-3 cup meat sauce (see recipe)
Instructions
For the tomato sauce (alternatively, you can use 1 16oz jar of pre-made tomato sauce)
- In the bottom of a medium pot over medium heat sauté garlic until softened and slightly browned, 2-3 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook stirring until incorporated, 2 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and dried herbs.
- Add crushed tomatoes and water and turn heat down to low. Simmer, covered on low, for at least one hour. You can simmer longer for a deeper flavor, just keep the heat very low and add water if needed to avoid scorching the bottom of the pan. Set aside to cool.
For the bechamel
- Warm the milk over low heat for 3-4 minutes.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until it bubbles a bit but doesn't brown, 2-3 minutes.
- Slowly add the milk and whisk to incorporate. Bring the sauce to a boil, whisking constantly, then reduce the heat the medium-low and continue whisking until thickened, 3-5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the top with wax paper or plastic wrap and set aside to cool.
For the fresh pasta
- If using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours and egg yolk in the mixer. Begin mixing on a slow speed, adding small amounts of water as you go until the mixture comes together into a ball. Knead on medium for 5 minutes
- If kneading by hand, mix flours and dump out onto the countertop. Make a well in the center of the flour pile where you'll whisk together the egg yolk and 1/4 cup water. Begin incorporating flour into the egg/water mixture, adding more water as needed as you go. Knead the dough by hand on the countertop for 5-10 minutes.
- Check that the dough is sufficiently kneaded by cutting the dough in half. You should see many small air pockets inside the dough. If you don't see these, continue kneading.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or cover and set aside to rest for at least 30 minutes. The dough can also be made in advance and at this point can be wrapped and left in the fridge for 1-2 days.
Assembling the lasagna
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Before you start rolling out the pasta dough, make sure that your bechamel and tomato sauce are cooked and cooled. Spread a layer of 2-3 tbsp of tomato sauce in the bottom of your loaf pan.
- Divide the pasta dough into 12 equal pieces. Feed one piece through the pasta roller set on the thickest setting (usually #1). Fold the rolled dough into thirds and feed through a second time. Repeat this process, gradually working your way up to the thinnest setting (#7 or 8), until you have a thin, almost translucent sheet of dough.
- Holding the dough sheet gently, place it in the loaf pan. Trim and remove any excess dough that comes up the sides. Top with a thin layer of bechamel followed by a thin layer of tomato sauce.
- Repeat this process. Roll out each segment of dough to the thinnest setting on your pasta roller, transfer to the loaf pan and top with bechamel and tomato sauce. Don't roll out all the sheets of dough at once; they're too delicate to sit. Roll each one out as you layer.
- For the final layer, top with bechamel, tomato sauce and a generous sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Bake until browned, about 45 minutes.
- Set the lasagna aside to rest for at least 2 hours, but it can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days.
For the meat sauce (optional; alternatively, use a second serving of the tomato sauce recipe found above)
- While the lasagna cooks, make the meat sauce for serving. In a medium sauce pan, saute ground meat until beginning to brown, 5 minutes. Add in onions and garlic and cook until softened and translucent, 3-5 minutes.
- Add tomato paste and cook stirring until incorporated, 2 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and dried herbs.
- Add crushed tomatoes and a splash of water and turn heat down to low. Simmer, covered on low, for at least one hour. You can simmer longer for a deeper flavor, just keep the heat very low and add water if needed to avoid scorching the bottom of the pan. Finish with fresh herbs.
For serving
- Cover the top of the cooled lasagna with mozzarella cheese and bake until cheese is bubbly and lasagna is heated back through, 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool slightly then slice. Top each slice with a scoop of meat sauce and serve.
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