If we were ranking dinner favorites in our household, this Four Cheese Lasagna would be #1 without question. There is cheese, cheese, cheese and more cheese. And if you’re so inclined, the potential for even more cheese. Yes. Yum. Amazing. In fact, I had an entirely different recipe planned to share with you today, but……I decided it would be wrong of me to keep this from you any longer. It is so good!
I made very few changes from the original recipe, because frankly it’s darn near perfect. A few items of note: I have used light butter and regular butter – either one works fine. I always use skim milk and low fat ricotta cheese, yielding fabulous results. I use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth to make it vegetarian. The first time I made this, I added gorgonzola, the optional fifth cheese, and prefer it without. It adds an interesting dimension to the dish, but I realized I’m not really a gorgonzola fan.
There is a little extra time involved in making this lasagna, but every second is worth it. This lasagna can be served as an elegant dinner for company or as an incredible treat for a lazy Sunday, and the leftovers heat up perfectly!
- 6 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded (about 1½ cups)
- 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated finely (about 1 cup), divided
- 15 ounces low fat ricotta cheese
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped, plus 2 teaspoons for garnish
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium shallot, minced (about 3 tablespoons)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 2½ cups skim milk
- 1½ cups low-sodium vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 bay leaf
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 15 no-boil noodles
- 8 ounces fontina cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
- 3 ounces crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (about ¾ cup) (optional, see note)
- In a large glass bowl, place Gruyere and ½ cup Parmesan cheese.
- In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, egg, black pepper and parsley. Set both bowls aside.
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat until it begins to foam. Add shallots and garlic, stirring frequently until soft (about 2 minutes). Stir in flour until thoroughly combined, about 1½ minutes (mixture should not brown). Gradually whisk in milk and broth; increase heat to high, cover and bring to a full boil, whisking frequently. Add salt, cayenne and bay leaf, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until sauce thickens (about 10 minutes), stirring occasionally.
- Remove saucepan from heat and discard bay leaf. Gradually whisk in ¼ cup sauce into ricotta mixture. Pour remaining sauce over Gruyere mixture and stir until smooth; set aside while softening noodles.
- Adjust oven rack to upper middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place noodles in a 13-by-9 inch baking dish and cover with very hot tap water; soak 10 minutes, agitating noodles occasionally to prevent sticking. Remove noodles from dish and place in a single layer on kitchen towels and pat dry. Wipe out baking dish and spray lightly with cooking spray.
- Pour ½ cup sauce in the bottom of baking dish. Place 3 noodles in a single layer over sauce. Spread ½ cup ricotta mixture over noodles and sprinkle evenly with ½ cup fontina. Drizzle ½ cup sauce over cheese. Repeat layering of noodles, ricotta, fontina and sauce 3 more times. Place final 3 noodles over the top and cover with remaining sauce, spreading with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle evenly with remaining ½ cup Parmesan cheese.
- Spray large sheet of foil with cooking spray and cover lasagna; bake until edges are bubbling, about 25-30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking time. Remove foil and turn the oven to broil. * Broil until surface turns spotty brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Cool 15 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining parsley, cut into pieces and serve.
Note: If you want to include gorgonzola cheese, sprinkle it on top of the fontina on each layer.
Source: America’s Test Kitchen
