Hot Honey and Swiss Chard Lasagna
It’s lasagna. There’s not much that needs to be said about how great this baked pasta classic is. Hell, it’s Garfield’s favorite, and I love that nihilistic cat. But what most people don’t know, and I didn’t before I started this project, is that lasagna, or the idea of it started in ancient Greece. How it’s prepared now is pretty uniform in technique, but the fillings and the pasta shape itself differ from region to region. The north is all about flat sheets, and the south has the ruffles. I prefer the ruffles, not for the texture but for the crispy edges they give you.
A few weeks back, my buddies and I were making some pizzas, one of the topping ideas was ricotta, kale, and hot honey. It quickly became a fan favorite, and I was itching to make it again, to capture that creamy, sweet, salty, and spicy bite one more time. This lasagne is a pretty good rendition of that, with the added bonus that you get multiple layers of the goodness instead of just one and all those crispy corners. This is one of those dishes that will haunt you and make you say things like “I would like to swim in a bathtub filled with ricotta and hot honey” and not care when everyone is looking at you funny.
The Recipe
Servings: 4
Prep time: 20 mins.
Cook time: 1 hr.
Difficulty: Medium
Special Equipment:
9” x 13” baking dish
Notes:
N/A
Ingredients & Mise en Place
• 16 oz. lasagne - with ruffles preferred
• 2 bunches red Swiss chard - stems removed and greens chopped
• 15 oz. whole milk ricotta
• 4 cloves of garlic - minced fine
• 2 ½ cups heavy cream
• ¼ cup flour
• 6 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 4 oz. mozzarella - prefer a ball that is peeled by hand
• Hot honey
• Nutmeg (optional)
• Crushed red pepper (optional)
• Parmigiano Reggiano (optional)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt
• Pepper
Preparation
01.
Bring a pot of heavily salted water to a boil and preheat your oven to 400° F.
02.
In a deep sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat and add garlic. Cook for about 2 minutes until fragrant and soft, and then add the Swiss chard and salt, and pepper to taste. Once the chard has wilted, remove it from the mixture from the heat and set aside. When cool enough to handle, squeeze all the excess water out of your Swiss chard.
03.
In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Next, add in the flour and stir to create a roux. Allow it to get golden, but do not let it brown. When the roux is ready, stir in the heavy cream and season with nutmeg and crushed red pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to low to keep it warm, and stir occasionally to prevent a film from forming.
04.
Add your lasagne to the pot of boiling water and cook to al dente according to the directions - around 12 minutes. Once cooked, strain and run cold water over them to stop the cooking.
05.
To assemble, coat the bottom of the baking dish with the béchamel. Add a layer of noodles and then coat with more béchamel. Add in some strained Swiss chard, and cover with a good portion of ricotta. Next, drizzle some hot honey and then continue the process. The order of ingredients doesn’t matter as much as that you pack in as much flavor in between layers. On the top layer, add some béchamel, some Swiss chard, and the mozzarella to melt.
06.
Place the lasagne in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the mozzarella cheese is melted and browned and the corners have gotten crispy. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before cutting into 6 even (large) portions. Add grated parm and tuck in.
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