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Take Fresh Approach To Lasagna

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By RUSS PARSONS, Los Angeles Times

Published: October 3, 2007

My old hand-cranked fresh-pasta machine came out of the cabinet the other day. And that meant it was time to make lasagna.

After all these years, it still seems like magic to me: the way a few turns of a handle can turn a lumpy dough into pure silk. And how easily something so simple can turn into a dish so profound.

The pasta, cut into squares and boiled briefly, gets brushed lightly with pesto and layered with intensely flavored roasted tomatoes, a dollop of moist cheese and more roasted tomatoes. After a quick trip into a hot oven right on individual plates, out come these gorgeous dishes, the epitome of rustic elegance.

But wait, you're saying, that's not lasagna. Well, in my house it is. And this free-form style shows off the luxurious silkiness of fresh pasta better than any dish I've ever had.

Because the sheets are left wide and not sliced into little ribbons, you get the full impact of the pasta's wonderful texture. That's why, even if I've gone a year without making fresh noodles, this lasagna - whether it's made with tomatoes, wild mushrooms, zucchini or poached shellfish - is always the first thing I make.

In a traditional Italian-American lasagna - with all of that long-cooked ragu, ricotta and mozzarella and maybe even some white sauce (besciamella) - the delicacy of fresh pasta gets lost in all that delicious gush.

But strip away the lushness and pare the dish to its essentials, and something new appears: Lasagna that seems elegant. Paradoxically, getting rid of some of the richness makes the dish seem more luxurious rather than less.

Good Time For Veggies

This lasagna is so flexible it will adapt to almost any kind of filling. Having just been to the farmers market for early fall vegetables, it seemed obvious how I should proceed.

First, I roasted tomatoes to concentrate their flavor. I made a slightly thicker version of pesto and brushed the pasta sheets with that. A little minced garlic and parsley mixed into fresh ricotta, and I was ready to go. Moistened pasta sheet, a dollop of ricotta, roasted tomatoes, another moistened pasta sheet and a few more tomatoes scattered on top for garnish. Into the oven for 10 minutes, and it was done.

That's the basic template; the variations are endless.

Of course, there's no need to restrict yourself to vegetable fillings. One of the first times I saw free-form lasagna was in a little seafood restaurant outside of Pisa. The main ingredient was lightly poached shellfish, and the sauce tasted like reduced cream-and-shrimp stock. It was heavenly.

Or cook crumbled Italian sausage and make a capery fresh tomato sauce. Slivered green olives would be good in the ricotta mix for this one.

You can even use the same long-simmered meat ragu you love with traditional lasagna . Shred or chop the meat into small pieces, and brush or spoon the sauce over the pasta. This lighter touch lets each ingredient shine through.

Fresh And Easy To Make

In theory, you could make these dishes with dried pasta. But, honestly, using anything but fresh would be beside the point. That's not prejudice - dried and fresh are just different materials, like wool and silk. The pleasure of a good dried pasta is in its hearty, chewy texture. The fresh slip of fresh pasta is what makes lasagna special.

For a long time, there was so much prestige attached to fresh pasta that people automatically assumed it must be hard to make.

Really, it couldn't be easier. Mix the dough in the food processor: pulse one egg and a little olive oil for every three-quarters cup of flour until the mixture forms a ball that rolls around on the top of the blade. Remove the ball from the machine, and knead it by hand until it is silky and smooth - this will take about a dozen turns. (If the dough seems too wet and sticky at first, dust it very lightly with flour.) Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for one hour.

When you're ready to make the noodles, cut off a piece of dough and pass it through the pasta machine using progressively thinner settings until you have a very thin sheet.

As the sheet gets thinner, more moisture will be expressed, so keep dusting it lightly with flour. Also, keep cutting it to a manageable size.

That's all there is to it. When the sheet is thin enough, dust it lightly with flour one more time to discourage sticking, and set it aside while you prepare the rest of the dough.

Once you've cut the sheets into the appropriately sized squares, you can cook them as much as two hours before serving. Cook them in a big pot of boiling water, but only four or five at a time to keep them from sticking together. They're done as soon as they float to the surface.

Transfer them to a bowl of cold water, and flatten them slightly to make sure they don't wrinkle and stick. You'll only need to pat them dry with a tea towel before brushing with sauce and assembling.

FREE-FORM LASAGNA WITH SLOW-ROASTED TOMATOES AND PESTO
3/4 cup flour, plus more for dusting

1/2 cup plus 4 teaspoons olive oil, divided

1 egg

1 pound ripe tomatoes, peeled and cut into 8 lengthwise slices each

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese

2 cloves garlic, plus 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic, divided

1 tablespoon minced parsley

2 cups basil leaves

2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

1/4 cup grated pecorino Romano cheese

Make fresh pasta dough by pulsing the flour and 4 teaspoons olive oil in a food processor. Add the egg, and pulse until the dough forms a ball that rides around on the top of the blade. Remove the dough from the food processor, and knead until smooth and shiny; this should take only about 1 minute. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Roll the pasta dough out very thin, about a 6 setting on most machines, flouring as necessary. The sheets should be at least 4 inches wide. Cut the pasta sheets into squares, dust lightly with flour and set aside until ready to use.

Cook 4 or 5 pasta sheets at a time in plenty of rapidly boiling salted water. The pasta will be done when sheets float to the surface, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the boiling water, and drain on a tea towel if using immediately or transfer to a large bowl of water to store. Repeat, using all of the pasta.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place the tomato slices on a rack, drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil, and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and a couple grinds of black pepper. Roast the tomatoes for 40 minutes, until the surface is lightly caramelized and the tomatoes are softened. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool slightly.

While the tomatoes are cooking, beat together the ricotta, 1/4 teaspoon salt, minced garlic and parsley in a small bowl until thoroughly mixed. Set aside.

To make the pesto: Drop the garlic cloves through the feed tube of a running food processor or blender, and mince until fine. Turn the machine off, and add the basil leaves. With the machine running again, slowly pour the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil through the food tube. Add the pine nuts and pecorino Romano, and pulse to combine and season to taste with salt.

(The dish can be prepared to this point several hours in advance. The tomatoes and the pesto can be kept at room temperature or refrigerated; the ricotta should be refrigerated; and the cooked pasta sheets should be stored in a large bowl of water. Bring the pesto and ricotta to room temperature, warm the tomatoes in a skillet over low heat and drain the pasta sheets and pat dry on a tea towel before using.)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place 1 square of the cooked pasta on a heat-proof plate, and brush on enough of the pesto to thinly coat the sheet. Spoon 1/4 cup of ricotta in a low mound in the center. Arrange about 3 slices of roasted tomatoes on top of the ricotta. Brush 1 more pasta square with the pesto, and place this on top of the tomatoes. Repeat with 3 more plates.

Place the plates on a cookie sheet, and place in the oven to heat through, about 8 minutes. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Note: In season, this recipe is wonderful with heirloom tomatoes; otherwise use Roma tomatoes.

578 calories; 16 grams protein; 26 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams fiber; 47 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 92 milligrams cholesterol; 497 milligrams sodium

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