Skillet lasagna

Everyone loves lasagna, but a traditional recipe is tough to make on a weeknight. This skillet recipe comes together in about 45 minutes using oven-ready noodles.

For a heartier dish, Lidia suggests adding a few crumbled links of Italian sausage or browned mushrooms. If you don’t like peas or simply want to veg it up, add a few handfuls of baby spinach to each layer. Be sure to allow it to sit for at least 15 minutes before serving, so the lasagna can more easily be cut into portions.

Makes: 4 servings

Extra-virgin olive oil, for coating skillet

3 ¼ cups marinara sauce, homemade or store-bought 1 cup fresh ricotta

1 cup shredded low-moisture mozzarella, divided

½ cup freshly grated Grana Padano

1 large egg, beaten

½ cup frozen baby peas 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

Kosher salt

Red pepper flakes

12 sheet no-boil (oven-ready) lasagna

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.

Add enough olive oil to make a thin film on the bottom of the skillet. Add 1 ¾ cups marinara with ¼ cup water and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

2. In a bowl, combine ricotta, ½ cup mozzarella, ¼ cup grated Grana Padano, egg, peas and parsley. Season with salt and a pinch of red pepper flakes, and mix well.

3. Layer three of the noodles in the skillet over the sauce. (I had to break the ends to fit.) Dollop ⅓ of the ricotta mixture on top of the pasta in the skillet, and spread it out to cover noodles; then drizzle with ¼ cup of the tomato sauce. Make two more layers, ending with noodles. Drizzle with remaining 1 ½ cups sauce. Top with the remaining ½ cup mozzarella and ¼ cup grated cheese.

4. Cover skillet and simmer until pasta is al dente (test by piercing the center with a paring knife), 20-25 minutes.

5. Preheat broiler. Sprinkle remaining ¼ cup grated cheese on top and broil the lasagna until the top is nicely browned, about 1 minute.

6. Let sit for 15 minutes before cutting and serving so the lasagna will settle and portions can be cut more easily.