There are two kinds of lasagna, said Russ Parsons in the Los Angeles Times—traditional and free-form, in which “the sheets are left wide and not sliced into little ribbons.” Free-form lasagna, using homemade squares, shows off seasonal vegetables to perfection. The result is lasagna that “actually seems elegant.” Store-bought pasta is fine for the Italian-American version most of us are familiar with: The delicate flavor of fresh pasta “just gets lost” in the delicious mix of ragù, ricotta, and mozzarella. Making free-form lasagna from scratch isn’t nearly as time-consuming as it might appear, however, and the dish tastes so good you may never want to put your pasta maker “back into a cabinet again.”
Recipe of the week
Free-Form Lasagna With Slow-Roasted Tomatoes and Pesto
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3/4 cup flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup plus 4 tsp olive oil, divided
1 egg
1 pound ripe tomatoes, each peeled and cut into 8 lengthwise slices
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
2 cloves garlic, plus 1/2 tsp minced garlic, divided
1 tbsp minced parsley
2 cups basil leaves
2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Make fresh pasta dough by pulsing flour and 4 tsp olive oil in food processor. Add egg; pulse until dough forms ball that rides on top of blade. Remove dough from food processor; knead until smooth and shiny, about a minute. Wrap in plastic wrap, refrigerate at least one hour. Roll pasta dough out very thin, a 6 setting on most machines, flouring as necessary. Sheets
should be at least 4 inches wide. Cut pasta sheets into squares, dust lightly with flour, and set aside. Cook four or five pasta sheets at a time in plenty of rapidly boiling salted water. Pasta will be done when sheets float to surface, 1 to 2 minutes.
Remove from boiling water; drain on tea towel if using immediately, or transfer to large bowl of water to store. Repeat, using all of pasta.
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place tomato slices on rack, drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil, and season with 1/4 tsp salt and couple grinds black pepper. Roast tomatoes for 40 minutes, until surface is lightly caramelized and tomatoes are softened. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. While tomatoes
are cooking, beat together ricotta, 1/4 tsp salt, minced garlic, and parsley in small bowl until thoroughly mixed. Set aside.
To make pesto, drop garlic cloves through feed tube of running food processor or blender; mince until fine. Turn machine off; add basil leaves. With machine running again, slowly pour remaining 1/4 cup olive oil through food tube. Add pine nuts and Pecorino Romano; pulse to combine; season
to taste with salt.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place 1 square of cooked pasta on heat-proof plate; brush on enough pesto to thinly coat sheet. Spoon 1/4 cup ricotta in low mound in center. Arrange about 3 slices of roasted tomatoes on top of ricotta. Brush 1 more pasta square with pesto; place on top of tomatoes. Repeat with 3 more plates. Place plates on cookie sheet and put in oven to
heat through, about 8 minutes. Serve immediately. Serves 4.
