Variation on Lasagna

Here in NYC it's gross, cold and rainy. It's been raining all weekend and I haven't been able to get out much to work out. It is, however, the perfect weather for making a lasagna! I found a (slightly) healthier, easy version and thought I'd pass it along. It's based off a recipe I found via The Kitchen Sink who found it at 101 Cookbooks. Click to Kitchen Sink's photos of the lasagna and I assure you, you will want to make this immediately. They call for making your own noodles, but I went for the store bought, no boiling kind and it was just as tasty.

Thousand Layer Lasagna

1 pound lasagna noodles

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 28-ounce can crushed organic tomatoes
zest of one lemon

3 4-ounce balls of fresh mozzarella, torn up into little pieces
slivered basil leaves (one large bunch)
freshly grated Parmesan (optional)

Preheat your oven to 375.

Make your sauce: Place the olive oil, salt, pepper flakes, and garlic in a pan. Dial the heat up and saute for a minute or two. Add the tomatoes and slowly bring to a simmer as well. Remove from heat, stir in the lemon zest and taste for seasoning. Add more salt if needed. Set aside.

Cut up your basil into strips and tear up your mozarella balls. The recipe called for a 9x9 pan so I used my 8x8 and had enough leftover for a bread pan. Using the bread pan was a genius idea (compliments of my friend Rebecca), lasagna noodles fit PERFECTLY in a single layer and the portion is exactly 2 servings, perfect for tonight's dinner and tomorrow's lunch and I'll freeze the rest.

Pull it all together. Ladle a bit of the sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Cover the bottom with a layer of pasta sheets. Now a thin layer of sauce, basil and a bit of cheese. Go for another layer of pasta, then sauce/basil/cheese, then pasta again, then sauce,basil and cheese. Keep going until you've used up all the sauce and pasta. You want to finish with a layer of pasta. Top with the last of the sauce and the very last of the cheese so you have a nice cheesy top.

Cover with foil and bake until everything is melted and fragrant, 35 minutes or so. Let it sit for 10 minutes before serving, so everything has a chance to set up a bit. Dust with parmesan and a bit of slivered basil.

This was SO YUMMY and pretty easy to throw together.

Enjoy!!!