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You spoke, I listened, there’s no doubt about it: You love Lasagna Florentine, we all love lasagna, I love ravioli lasagna Florentine ! Some of us like it meaty some like me it Florentine style. I’m all about the lather because hmm…maybe I’m narcissistic like that. I take some kind of twisted pride in the fact that there’s a lasagna out there with my name on it, hehe. Who knows, I might need to talk to a therapist about this at some point, but for right now forget it, I don’t wanna talk about it.
As I am sure you have a bomb lasagna Florentine recipe you make for the family at Christmas, this is a little bit different tough, it’s ravioli lasagna Florentine. It’s the easy, quick, weeknight style lasagna, the double creamy, double gooey kind, your ultimate ravioli lasagna indulgence.
This is my issue with store bough lasagna noodles: they are always too thick, always, even the fanciest of them all, too darn thick. Which poses a real problem for me who likes fluffy, creamy, gooey layers of lasagna Florentine. When I take my first bite of lasagna, I want to feel like I’m eating little fluffy bites of a cloud, you know the super fluffy ones you see right after it rains on a tropical island. If that makes any kind of sense to you at all.
So what’s this one woman show to do ? Come on, let’s get real: unless mom is here to help I’m most likely not rolling out paper-thin egg noodles for lasagna on a Tuesday. But I’m sick and tired of waiting for lasagna Florentine until Christmas, when all the egg noodle production takes place. I want it on a Tuesday in February, and I want it fluffy, creamy, gooey with a golden crust !
So I bought my favorite fresh ricotta ravioli, the extra-large kind and used those instead of lasagna noodles. I did say double creamy didn’t I ? Jack Pot Baby !
I am not the one to brag, and I probably really shouldn’t brag about standing over a piece of this ravioli lasagna Florentine, still in pajamas, and eating it cold for breakfast. But I really did, because even cold it was still super creamy and fluffy, and ate the whole entire thing, no shame at all !
Contrary to popular belief, lasagna doesn’t need to bake for 45 minutes. All those ingredients are almost fully cooked, so what we are looking for is just the cheeses to melt and marry up nicely with the sauce. Then you want to transfer it to the preheated broiler for just a couple of minute to get that nicely golden cheese top. That is all, quick, easy weeknight lasagna Florentine is finally a dream come true.
What’s your favorite style of lasagna ? Are you all about the creamy Florentine, partial to the Bolognese layers or butternut squash ? Have you fallen in love with the ravioli lasagna Florentine yet ? Tell me in the comment section, I want to know everything xo’s
Worth noting: make sure you are using a thick sauce, even if you don’t make it from scratch, just pick a thick tomato sauce so your lasagna won’t be soggy. Are you a carnivore and must have some meat in there ? Simply replace the tomato sauce with this thick ragu alla bolognese.
4.67 from 3 votes
Print Recipe
Prep Time:10 minutes mins
Cook Time:20 minutes mins
Total Time:30 minutes mins
Ingredients
- 2 lb fresh ravioli large (ricotta filling ), organic
- 1 1/2 c arrabiata or marinara tomato sauce thick
- 1 lb whole milk <a class="zem_slink" title="Ricotta" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricotta" target="_blank" rel="wikipedia" data-mce-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricotta">ricotta cheese</a>
- 2/3 lb fontina cheese shredded
- 1/2 lb baby spinach
- 8 cloves garlic smashed with the side of a chef’s knife
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt & black pepper to taste
- 1/4 c Italian flat leaf parsley or basil for garnish
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 375 “F. Meanwhile bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it well. Add the ravioli and cook them for 2 minutes until they float to the top, or according to the instructions on the package. Cook 1 minute less then whatever the box says.
Drain the ravioli in a colander and drizzle them with a lug of olive oil so they won’t stick to each other. Work with them gently as not to break them, set aside.
In a large skillet heat up a lug of olive oil and roast the garlic cloves on low flame until golden all over, making sure not to burn them. Once the garlic is golden add in the baby spinach and toss to coat in the oils for about a minute until wilted. Season with a pinch of sea salt. Transfer to a colander and allow the moisture to drain well.
meanwhile, In a small bowl whisk together the ricotta cheese with a pinch of salt and 1 tbsp of the olive oil until smooth.
Take out your large gratin pan, and pour in a drop of olive oil and 1/2 c of the tomato sauce. Spread it all over the bottom. Top with half of the ravioli slightly overlapping them. Drizzle another 1/2 c of tomato sauce of the ravioli and top with the ricotta cheese. Sprinkle the sautéed spinach and roasted garlic all over the top of the ricotta cheese, the sprinkle a half of the fontina cheese on top. Layer the remaining ravioli over the top, slightly overlapping each other, and top with he remaining half cup of the tomato sauce. Sprinkle the remaining fontina cheese all over the top and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, until the cheese has melted.
For a golden top, transfer the lasagne to a preheated broiler for a couple of minutes, until golden brown to your liking. Allow the lasagne to cool off and set for about 10 minutes before serving garnished with fresh basil or parsley.
Course: Entree
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 8
Author: Florentina
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P.S. Spaghetti & Fontina Cheese Meatballs Recipe <—The best !
