no-boil lasagna noodles – Ali Does It Herself

What’s better than a nice fall lasagna?

And this one has eggplant in it. Who doesn’t like eggplant?

This recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart’s Every Day Food. It uses no-boil lasagna noodles, which makes everything so much easier.

First you need to make up a basic béchamel sauce. Don’t freak out — it’s not that hard.

Béchamel Sauce

Melt 5 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan.

Dice a small onion and chuck it in.

Add a clove of garlic, or a spoonful of garlic-in-a-jar.

Cook that stuff until the onion is soft, about 4 minutes.

Add in 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, and then cook, stirring, until the mixture is pale golden and has a nutty aroma, about another 4 minutes.

Add in 2 1/4 cups whole milk (or suitable substitute) and whisk constantly the whole time. Add in another 2 1/4 cups milk and whisk until smooth. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce comes to a boil and thickens, about 10 minutes.

Use it immediately or press plastic wrap to the surface (to prevent it forming a skin) and let it cool. You can keep it in the fridge for up to 5 days like that.

Lasagna

Preheat your oven to 400°F. Put your oven racks in the middle and upper third of the oven.

Slice up 1 1/2 pounds eggplant into 1/4″ rounds and divide between two baking sheets.

Toss with a little bit of olive oil and salt and pepper and bake until tender, stirring and rotating halfway through, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool, but leave the oven on.

In a large skillet, heat some oil over medium-high. Add in 1 pound lean ground beef and stir until cooked through, about 4 minutes. Add some allspice and dried oregano and season with salt and pepper. You can also add some fresh chopped mint if you like. Remove from heat and transfer the meat to a bowl.

Pulse 1 1/4 cups (3 1/4 oz) romano or parmesan cheese in your food processor, or use the pre-grated variety. I prefer using whole cheese because it tends to be less dry.

In a baking dish (size dependent on your noodles, mine were slightly smaller than a 9×13″ pan), spread one cup sauce on the bottom of the dish. Top with no-boil lasagna noodles to cover (I used three). Make sure to leave some space between the noodles, as they will expand as they cook.

Layer with half the meat, then another cup of sauce and 1/4 cup of cheese.

Add more noodles, then half the eggplant, a cup of sauce, and 1/4 cup of cheese.

Repeat with the remaining ingredients, reserving the last 1/4 cup of cheese.

Cover lasagna loosely with foil and bake on the top rack until the sauce is bubbling, about 35 minutes. If you’re worried about spillage from a bubbling lasagna, place a baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven to catch drips.

Remove from oven and heat your broiler. Take off the foil, sprinkle on the last bit of cheese and broil the lasagna until the cheese is browned and bubbling, about 3 to 5 minutes.