This Inside-Out Lasagna Cake With Crispy Edges
A medium slice of lasagna is always the tastiest presentation of the dish, more photogenic and more highly valued as it is protected on all sides and often has the best balance of toppings. But we all know where the real action is: crisp edges where the cheese is nicely crunchy. For those who love lasagna, there’s an easy way to get the crispiness you want on the sides, top, and bottom of each bite: Bake an inside-out lasagna pie.
This lasagna pie came about because of one of my annoying personality traits: I don’t like a lot of tomato sauce. More specifically, I enjoy the perfect balance of sauce and noodles, erring on the side of less sauce. The more bare noodles around the edges, the better. This is the same mood that spaghetti pie or tahdig celebrates ; I always love these crunchy starches and this dish is made with that in mind. Inside-out lasagne is cooked in a round cake pan where the noodles are mostly on the outside and the filling is hidden inside, so each bite has the perfect balance of filling and crispiness. There is a sauce, of course, but it is a thick meat sauce. The sauce in the jars he calls for is made to evaporate the excess tomato water. The result is a toasted, cheesy, meaty, layered centerpiece encased in a semi-fried, very crunchy noodle shell.
As with any lasagna, you must prep the ingredients before you start layering. Elements include meat sauce, cheese section and noodles. Boil about 10-15 sheets of lasagna until they are soft and pliable. In a small bowl, mix about a cup and a half of ricotta cheese with egg and seasonings of your choice. (I used some garlic powder, basil, and oregano.) Cook the meat sauce you are using over medium heat in a wide-bottomed skillet to evaporate as much of the excess water as possible. I used the rao bolognese sauce with minced turkey and onions, cooked for about 10 minutes or until the liquid stopped building up and the mixture was quite thick. I ended up with about two cups of low-fat meat sauce.
There the assembly is slightly different. I used a 9″ round cake tin and prepared it the same way I make cakes, buttering the entire inside and putting the parchment circle on the bottom as I was planning to turn it over and serve it upside down. However, you can cook it in a cast iron skillet and serve it straight from there. (Don’t line it with parchment, and you’ll probably get crispier sides.) Line the bottom with pasta and overlap it slightly to make a pasta bucket. Excess noodles should rise up the sides and hang off the wall. If there are places that don’t have draped noodles, tear the noodles in half and spread them along the walls so they glow outward like a cartoon sun. This will also provide more coverage and they will be stacked later. Since I planned on the bottom to end up as the top, I made a small decorative pattern, but this is not necessary, especially if you are not going to turn it over.
Spread a thin layer of the ricotta mixture on the bottom, followed by a few pieces of mozzarella. Top with half of the meat mixture, then lay out a layer of pasta. You don’t need any extra draping for this layer, so just rip and fold the pieces to make one layer. Repeat the same with the other half of the ricotta, mozzarella and meat sauce mixture. Fold the draped pasta tails over the top of the cake so they overlap at a natural angle and there are no bald spots. If several sheets of noodles begin to overlap in the same place, spray or brush with olive oil between layers; the oil will allow these noodles to brown slightly and become crispy. When you’ve finished wrapping the top, brush the entire top surface of the noodles with olive oil. Cover with a lightly oiled piece of foil and place another cake tin or other cast iron skillet on top to make it heavier. Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes or until bubbles appear. Remove the weights and foil and roast for five minutes.
Lasagna cake should be bubbly and topped with delicious, half-fried, crunchy noodles. If you consider yourself a fan of sumptuous toppings, or if you like the contrast between fried noodles and runny cheese, drizzle the cake with a couple of spoonfuls of sauce and a dollop of melting mozzarella before frying. Please note that in this case you will not throw it out of the dish, but the easier it is for you.
If you didn’t add the filling, let it cool for 20 minutes and invert from the cake pan onto a serving dish. If you want the crispy, fried side up, turn it over again onto another plate. Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese on top and cut it like a cake. (Maybe I’ll ask for this cake for my next birthday.) Leftovers keep in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Lasagna inside out
Ingredients:
- 2 cups meat sauce (boil down to evaporate excess water)
- 10 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- Garlic powder, oregano, salt, basil or other seasonings to taste
- 10 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
- 12-14 lasagne noodles, boiled
- Olive oil for brushing or spraying
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a cake tin with butter and a parchment circle on the bottom. If you are using a cast iron skillet, grease it with butter.
Mix ricotta cheese with egg and seasonings. Line a cake pan (or cast iron skillet) with pasta sheets so that they hang over the edges, spread outward, slightly overlapping the noodles, and tear the sheets in half to cover the open spaces.
Spread half of the ricotta mixture on the bottom and half of the mozzarella cheese on top. Spread half of the meat mixture over the cheese layer and top with a layer of noodles. Lay this layer of noodles evenly in the form, it should not hang from the edges. Top with the other half of the ricotta mixture and repeat the mozzarella and sauce layers. Take the draped piece and turn it over so that it covers the top of the lasagne cake. Any overlapping layers can be drizzled or oiled to make them crispy. After the cake is wrapped on top, drizzle it with a thin layer of butter. Cover the cake with a lightly oiled piece of foil and place an empty cake pan or cast iron skillet on top to make it heavier.
Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes. Remove the weights and foil and roast for another five minutes. Let the cake cool for 20 minutes and flip out of the pan or serve straight from the pan.