Simplified lasagna holds up in structure, flavour
The rich sauce of lasagna Bolognese is typically bound between thin sheets of pasta along with a creamy béchamel sauce and Parmesan cheese.
To simplify the process and keep our Ragu alla Bolognese in the spotlight, we decided to replace the traditional béchamel with a quick no-cook mixture of cottage cheese, heavy cream a touch of cornstarch (to prevent the dairy proteins from curdling when cooked), garlic and Pecorino Romano (which tasters preferred over Parmesan for its saltier, stronger flavour).
Fresh pasta tasted great but was very time-consuming to make; instead, we used dried wavy lasagna noodles, which gave the lasagna better structure, and briefly soaked them in boiling water before building the lasagna. Staggering the placement of the noodles in the dish instead of lining them up parallel to one another kept the lasagna level. Do not substitute no-boil noodles for regular noodles, as they are too thin.