Catfish Out of Water

I am taking a temporary retrieve from my black bean craze. In the fall, when the hot peppers are ripening, I tend to make a lot of beans. They're a great recipe to make on the go. It only takes about 15 minutes to toss everything into a crock pot and then to come back 8 hours later to freshly cooked black beans. Although I do have some cayenne peppers that I need to pick today and I don't want to use for beans because I still have some from when I made black beans two days ago! So, what's my next favorite thing to make? Anyone who knows me knows that I'm absolutely obsessed with cheese. Like many a Wisconsinite, I've come to this land for the abundance of cheese. Hence, the Lasagna w/ Manchego Cheese & Garden Fresh Cayenne Pepper.

As someone who's actually from Oregon and interloping in the Midwest, I must admit that the Pacific Northwest has better cheese. I still buy Tillamook in bulk at Costco here. The artisan cheese is unparalleled. But Wisconsin does win for an inane devotion to cheese. Although I take no responsibility for Kraft. Deep fried cheese curds in any capacity win. Why is no one else doing this??

Inane ranting about cheese aside, lasagna is one of my favorite foods. It's one of those things that looks more impressive than it is difficult to make. You can toss a lasagna together in about as much time as it takes to boil noodles. Look at this. I didn't even make sauce. I just mixed cheese, onions, and peppers together with ricotta. This took 15 minutes to prepare. And it's absolutely delicious. Homemade lasagna is unparalleled. If it takes less than 45 minutes to get to your table, it was premade and microwaved at the restaurant. You can do that!

Gallery

Variations of Cayenne Pepper Lasagna

I don't know why I don't put more peppers in lasagna. It's likely because I consider lasagna more of a winter food. I start growing peppers in the spring, after lasagna season. And they ripen in the fall, before wintry food season. So, the timing is never quite right to put freshly picked peppers into lasagna. Although it is something that I should endeavor to do more because it is absolutely delicious. There are also a plethora of peppers that are readily available year-round.

Lasagna w/ Mashed Potatoes & Spinach

Manchego & Fresh Mozzarella Lasagna

Lasagna w/ Spinach & Smoked Mozzarella

Lasagna w/ Manchego Cheese & Cayenne Pepper

This Cayenne Pepper Lasagna consists of yellow onion, ricotta, Manchego sheep cheese, and fresh mozzarella cheese. This is a quick and easy white sauce lasagna that can be tossed together in about as much time as it takes to boil noodles. It looks far more impressive coming out of the oven than it is difficult to make. You can also mix and match your own favorite produce and cheese varieties.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Servings 8 servings

Equipment

• Large Baking Dish
• Mixing Bowl
• Oven

Ingredients

  

• 1 batch lasagna noodles
• splash olive oil to coat baking dish
• 2 cayenne peppers minced
• 1/2 yellow onion diced
• 2 qt. ricotta 8 cups
• 3/4 c. Manchego cheese grated (divided 1/2 c. + 1/4 c.)
• 1 lbs. mozzarella (2 cups)
• dash salt
• dash pepper

Instructions

 

Lasagna Noodles

• I almost always make my own lasagna noodles. Other pastas I might grab something off of the shelf in a pinch. But lasagna is more of a process and I enjoy making the noodles from scratch! They're a lot easier to make than they look, have a much richer taste, and only take about a half hour. Plus, they cook in a minute or two, instead of 15! It does require semolina flour and a pasta machine helps, but you can use a rolling pin.
• Otherwise, prepare according to the manufacturer's instructions. This typically entails boiling a pot of water, cooking for 6-10 minutes, or until barely al dente. Drain and set aside.

  The pasta will cook another hour in the oven, so make sure not to overcook them during this stage!

Prepare Ingredients

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Lightly coat the bottom and sides of a large baking baking dish with olive oil and set aside.

  Mine is 13x9 inches, but any larger-sized baking dish will do. You can always cut the lasagna sheets to different sizes.
• Combine the produce, ricotta, and Manchego cheese together in a mixing bowl.

  Make sure to reserve about a third of the cheese. This will go on top of the final layer.

  It can help to add a little dash of salt and pepper. If you're worried about this being overpowering, though, you can always add it at the table after serving.

Assemble Lasagna

• Arrange noodles in the bottom of the baking dish. They should slightly overlap to keep the noodles from separating.
• Coat with 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture, followed by 1/3 of the mozzarella.
• Repeat layering noodles, tomato mixture, cheese mixture, and mozzarella.
• Top off with a final layer of noodles and the reserve amount of cheese.
• Bake for 45-60 minutes.

  The lasagna should be thoroughly heated throughout and the cheese on top will begin to brown.
• Let cool slightly, cut into 2-inch squares, and serve immediately.

Tips, Tricks, & Notes

• Lasagna is best served immediately. However, if you have leftovers, lasagna will keep for 3-5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Just preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and reheat in a baking dish for 15 minutes, or until hot.
• It’s traditional to add 2 teaspoons parsley and basil. I don’t do this because I’m allergic to them, but you can easily add add them in!