Five-Cheese Lasagna

Um, I know, right?  How can you go wrong with five-cheese anything?  Add noodles and some cream sauce and I'm lockin' myself in a closet with the pan and a fork.

I have this recipe handwritten on a legal pad page, so I have no idea where it originally came from.  I made it last year for the first time and remembered The Dad and my mom oohing and aahing over it, so I decided to make it for The Girl's birthday party.  I made it the day before and stuck it in the fridge uncooked.  It baked for an hour the day of the party and then I let it set for about 20 minutes before cutting into it.

The ingredient list looks long, but it comes together fairly quick.

Here's the recipe with my notes:

Five-Cheese Lasagna

6 oz Gruyere, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
2 oz Parmesan, shredded (1 cup)
16 oz Ricotta (1 1/2 cups)
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp parsley + 2 tsp
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium (3 Tbsp) shallot, minced (I subbed onion this time)
1 medium clove garlic, minced (I used 4)
1/3 C flour
2 1/2 C whole milk (I used 2%)
1 1/2 C low-sodium chicken broth (use veggie or mushroom broth if you want a vegetarian dish)
1/2 tsp salt
1 Bay leaf
Pinch Cayenne
15 no-boil lasagna noodles (I used a package of regular lasagna noodles)
8 oz Fontina (2 cups) (I subbed a bag of shredded Italian cheese this time 'cause I had it already)
3 oz Gorgonzola (3/4 cup)

If you want to use regular lasagna noodles, cook them for half the time directed on the package.

Lay them out on wax paper so they don't stick to each other.

Place Gruyere and 1/2 C Parmesan in a large bowl.

Combine ricotta, egg, pepper, and 2 Tbsp parsley in a medium bowl.

Set aside.

Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat until foaming; add shallot and garlic and cook , stirring constantly, until thoroughly combined, about 1 1/2 minutes; mixture should not brown.

Gradually mix in milk and broth; increase heat to medium-high and bring to a full boil, whisking frequently.

Add salt bay leaf, and cayenne; reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes, stirring to scrape bottom.

Remove pan from heat and discard bay leaf.  Gradually whisk 1/4 C sauce into ricotta mixture.

Pour remaining sauce over Gruyere mixture and stir until smooth; set aside while softening noodles.

Adjust oven rack to upper middle and preheat to 350.

Place no-boil noodles in a 9 x 13 baking dish and cover with hot tap water; soak 10 minutes, agitating occasionally to prevent sticking.  

Remove from water, place on towel and pat dry.  

Spray pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Place 1/2 C of sauce in the bottom of the baking dish.

Place three noodles on top.

Spread 1/2 C of ricotta mixture evenly over noodles. 

Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 cup of Fontina and 3 Tbsp of Gorgonzola.

Drizzle 1/2 C sauce evenly over cheese.

Repeat layering noodles, ricotta, Fontina, Gorgonzola, and sauce 3 more times.

(I started using four noodles across on my second layer because I had enough and my dish was big enough)

 Place final 3 noodles on top and cover completely with remaining sauce, spreading with a rubber spatula and allowing to spill over noodles.

Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 C of Parmesan.

I threw sliced tomatoes on top just for kicks and some color.

Spray foil with nonstick spray and cover lasagna; bake until edges are just bubbling, 25-30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through.

Remove foil and broil 3 - 5 minutes.

Cool 15 minutes.

Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Unlike all the other party food posts I've done, since the party is done and over with, I actually have pictures of this one, out of the oven and ready to eat.

Mmmm, cheesy lasagna.