When thinking about Easter, lasagna isn't something that immediately comes to mind! After all, I'm thinking spring. Eggs. Maybe salmon. Some bright and floral cheese. Perhaps chèvre? I did even buy chèvre and then not use it. Mostly because, as much as I associate these things with Easter, it's just not what I wanted to eat! For the second year in a row, it snowed in April. Which, quite frankly, makes it feel more like winter than spring food. And what do I want to eat all winter long? Fresh smoked mozzarella and every single kind of mozzarella. So, I went with my gut and made spinach and smoked mozzarella lasagna!
I also made a Quiche w/ Pear, Blackberry, & Blue Cheese, which was a little bit more spring forward. Although I still stand by: make what makes you happy! Regardless of the season or the supposed "holiday experience." This year I even just said that I don't want to go anywhere or do anything. I just want a day off to relax and eat copious amounts of cheese. So, cheers to this Solo Easter. I also just moved, so take my exhaustion with a grain of salt.
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Variations of Smoked Mozzarella Lasagna
I'm a big fan of making lasagna. I put anything and everything into them. I guess particularly spinach, tomatoes, and any and every kind of cheese that I can get my hands on! But, lasagna's are a great dish to make your own and mix and match favorite ingredients.
Prepare lasagna noodles according to the manufacturer's instructions. This typically entails boiling a pot of water, cooking for about 10 minutes, or until 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.
Halve the tomatoes and finely chop the spinach. I sometimes don't like to break out the big cutting board, so I'll pulse the spinach in a food processor. Although, you can easily just chop it up.
Crumble the fresh mozzarella and grate the Grana Padano cheese.Make sure to reserve about 1/2 cup of the Parmesan and mozzarella. This will go on top of the final layer.
Assemble Lasagna
Arrange noodles in the bottom of the baking dish. They should slightly overlap to keep the noodles from separating.
Top with 1/2 of the spinach, 1/2 of the ricotta, 1/2 of the tomatoes, 1/3 of the mozzarella, and 1/3 of the Grana Padano.
Repeat layering noodles and the same amount of toppings.
Top off with a final layer of noodles and the reserve amount of mozzarella and Grana Padano.
Bake for 50-60 minutes. The lasagna should be thoroughly heated throughout and the cheese on top will begin to brown. Let cool slightly and cut into 2-inch squares. 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.
This Page Contains Edited Images
As a general rule, I don't like to edit images. Food styling, editing, alteration, and even faking entirely is just as rampant a problem in the recipe realm. Cooking is a very visual art and you can tell when a lot of foods are cooked based on the color. So, when this is altered and you can't use the coloration as a gauge, it makes it quite difficult to follow some recipes. I have an entire article about Food Styling and Unrealistic Expectations of Recipes. My place has very warm lighting, though. So, sometimes my camera overcompensates and ends up with an unnatural hues. I've adjusted the hues, levels, and/or cropped the following images:
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