Lasagna w/ Mashed Potatoes, Spinach, & Fresh Mozzarella
This lasagna consists of mashed potatoes, sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, spinach, ricotta, and a gouda-parmesan blend. You can easily mix and match your own cheese. I just so happened to have gouda-parmesan in the fridge. Although any parmesan, romano, or other hard cheese substitutes just fine.
Equipment
- Food Processor (optional)
- Large Baking Dish
- Oven
Ingredients
Mashed Potatoes
- 8 yukon gold potatoes mashed
- 1/2 c. butter
- dash salt
- dash pepper
Lasagna
- 1 batch lasagna noodles
- 1 batch mashed potatoes
- 5 tomatoes sliced
- 32 oz. fresh mozzarella (2 full-sized containers)
- 12 oz. spinach roughly chopped
- 32 oz. ricotta (1 full-sized container)
- 12 oz. gouda-parmesan (or parmesan)
Instructions
Mashed Potatoes
- Peel and dice potatoes.
- Place in a large pot and cover with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil for 10-15 minutes, or until tender. You should be able to stick a fork in them and have it break in two pieces.
- Drain and place back in the pot. Add the milk, butter, salt, and pepper. Mash with a potato masher until light and fluffy.
Lasagna Noodles
- 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.
- Slice 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.
- Grate the gouda-parmesan cheese.Make sure to reserve about 1/2 cup of the ricotta, fresh mozzarella, and gouda-parmesan. 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 a layer of mashed potatoes, sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, 1/2 of the ricotta, and 1/3 of the gouda-parmesan.
- Repeat layering noodles and the same amount of toppings.
- Top off with a final layer of noodles and the reserve amount of ricotta, fresh mozzarella, and gouda-parmesan.
- 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.