The many layers of a sustainable lasagna
Full pan of house lasagna
Lasagna is the centerpiece of our House Made Holiday menu. We love the versatility of this festive dish: serve it for your celebratory meal, or as an easy dinner to heat up for a crowd of guests. What makes our lasagna special? Let’s break it down!
The first component in a lasagna is pasta. At the store, for shelf stability lasagna “noodles” come dry. We make fresh pasta in-house with Capay Mills whole wheat flour, for robust flavor and texture, and organic eggs from Burroughs Family Farms. Next comes tomato sauce. We cook organic tomatoes with vibrant aromatic vegetables until its bold flavor is enough to balance rich cheese and savory beef. Lasagna is traditionally made with three cheeses – ricotta adds light creaminess in the inner layers, the mozzarella brings the melty cheese pull on top that browns like a pizza, and the parmesan builds on a foundation of umami created by the beef and vegetables.
You see a lot of variation in what gets added between the layers. We add eggplant, zucchini, and mushrooms, all hearty veggies that both soak in the sauce and stand up to being cooked. For meat, we use delicious grass-fed organic beef from our friends at Burroughs Family Farms.
Layer check!
Finally, we engineer the layers. I like three layers of pasta minimum, two layers of veg with sauce and ricotta in between. This does make for a tall lasagna, but the taller the better in my opinion. You want to see the beautiful layers and enjoy the challenge of getting each layer in one bite. Plus a thick lasagna stays hot if you’re bringing it to your host’s house.
Got a hankering for a fully loaded, already prepared lasagna yet? Let this house-made layered noodle casserole feed your family or guests this season!
