CONFESSION: I make the best lasagna. It’s true. Whether it’s my vegetarian lasagna or my combo, I do it best. I can’t order lasagna in Italian restaurants because all I can think is “mine’s better.”

The problem is, there’s no recipe for me to share. It’s different every time. But while I don’t have a recipe to share, I do have techniques. My favorite technique is for my trademark Lazy Lasagna, always a favorite at dinner parties. This is great for a large group or for a good week’s worth of cooking. Freeze extra portions in vacuum-sealed bags for quick lunches later!

Why is it lazy? Well, because lasagna is layers of noodles and cheese, right? What about cutting out the extra work and getting the cheese and noodles all together? I use cooked ravioli—the Jumbo Vegetable Ravioli from Mr. Luigi’s Ravioli Co. is by far my favorite— to cut the cooking time by more than half. It’s a shame there doesn’t seem to be a way to order these online, because they’re extraordinary.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3 bags Mr. Luigi’s Jumbo Vegetable Ravioli; boiled with a little oil to prevent sticking, cooled and set aside.
  • 2 jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce
  • 1 lb ground beef or sausage
  • Fresh produce of choice; zucchini, bell peppers, eggplant, spinach, squash, whatever
  • One large onion
  • 6-8 cloves of garlic, chopped or pressed
  • Plenty of shredded Italian cheese
  • olive oil
  • Deep lasagna pan… I just ordered my Mario Batali Lasagna Pan, so I’m looking forward to using it and reporting.

1. Make the Ravioli (boil according to package directions with a little bit of oil to prevent sticking. Rinse with cold water.

2. Make the sauces. For the meat sauce I first cook, drain and season the beef or sausage, then toss in a jar of sauce with plenty of herbs and some parmesan and let it simmer. For the vegetable sauce I chop up all sorts of veggies and fry them up with herbs and olive oil before mixing in with a can of Clasico Florentine sauce.

3. Preheat the oven to 350º and start layering. Spray your pan with some olive oil cooking spray or actual olive oil and lay down a layer of ravioli. Use half of sauce one and a generous amount of shredded cheese. And just keep going. Layer of ravioli, layer of sauce. For the top layer,add the remaining sauce and top with the remaining cheese. Top it all off with Penzey’s Brady Street Cheese Mix

4. Bake for 45 minutes!

Slice and serve… delicious! This served a very hungry dinner party of 8 with two servings of leftovers.