With its layers of pasta, cheese and sauce, lasagna forms part of a comforting and filling meal. To add a special touch to this classic dish, make your next batch with homemade pasta. The pasta can be plain or you can work flavors, such as tomato or spinach, into the dough. For the pasta sheets to hold up during baking, you must prepare them correctly and boil them before assembling your lasagna.
A Quick Boil
Homemade fresh lasagna sheets must be boiled so they won't fall apart as the lasagna bakes. Because the noodles are already soft, the boiling time is much shorter than with dried noodles. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Slowly add in four of five of the pasta sheets and allow them to cook for one to two minutes. Do not add too many noodles at a time or they will stick together.
Drying Time
As each batch of noodles finishes, pull them out and drape them on a drying rack as you continue to cook the remaining sheets. This brief drying time will keep your lasagna from becoming soggy with pasta water.
- Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen; Lidia Matticchio Bastianich
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