Layered Rainbow Lasagna Braid
Finally a lasagna as pretty on the outside as it's delicious on the inside!
Author: The Chef
Cuisine: Italian
Recipe type: Lasagna
Ingredients
For the meat marinara:
- ½ pound ground beef
- Salt and pepper
- ½ cup diced yellow onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
For the beet puree:
- 2 beets, skinned and roughly diced
- ¼ yellow onion, roughly diced
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
For the carrot puree:
- 2 large carrots, roughly diced
- ¼ yellow onion, roughly diced
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
For the sauteed spinach:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cups fresh baby spinach
- Salt and pepper
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1 clove garlic, minced
For the ricotta filling:
- 8 ounces fresh whole milk ricotta
- ¼ cup Parmesan
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground pepper
For assembly:
- 7 lasagna sheets, uncooked
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 puff pastry sheet
- 4 slices provolone cheese
- 1 egg, beaten
For the garlic Parmesan butter:
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon parsley
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- On a large baking dish lined with parchment, place the carrots and ¼ cup diced onions on one side, and the beets and ¼ cup diced onions on the other side, keeping vegetable separated. Roast for 40 to 45 minutes until the vegetables are pierced easily when inserted with a knife.
- Make the meat marinara: Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Brown the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Add the onions and saute for 10 minutes until onions are soft. Add minced garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add tomato sauce and paste and simmer for 20 minutes. Season to taste. Set aside and let cool to room temperature.
- Make the sauteed spinach: Heat a large saucepan on medium-low and add a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the spinach, salt and pepper, and saute until spinach is wilted. Add red pepper flakes and minced garlic. Cook for 1 minute more, then set aside and cool completely.
- Make the ricotta filling: In a large bowl, mix ricotta, Parmesan, egg, parsley, salt and pepper until well blended. Reserve half, then split the other half into 2 small individual servings.
- Make the carrot layer: In a food processor, pulse roasted carrots, onions and garlic until finely ground. Add a reserved quarter of the ricotta mixture and pulse until well blended. Set aside.
- Make the beet layer: In a food processor, pulse roasted beets, onions and garlic until finely ground. Add a reserved quarter of the ricotta mixture and pulse until well blended. Set aside.
- Assemble: Boil the lasagna noodles until partially cooked, about 4 minutes. Drain and place in a bowl of cool water. Roll out puff pastry on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cut off top corners of puff pastry and remove. Cut 1-inch diagonal lines down the sides of the puff pastry, going about one-fourth of the way in. Cut a triangle wedge out of the bottom of the puff pastry and discard.
- Pat 3 noodles dry with a paper towel and overlap widthwise onto the puff pastry with about 1 inch of puff pastry on each side.
- Spoon the beet ricotta mixture lengthwise over the noodles. Top with a patted dry lasagna noodle. Top lasagna noodle with ⅓ cup ricotta mixture. Spoon sauteed spinach mixture over ricotta layer. Add 2 slices provolone. Top with another lasagna noodle lengthwise. Repeat once. Spoon the carrot ricotta mixture lengthwise over the noodles. Top with a patted dry lasagna noodle. Spoon the remaining ricotta mixture onto the lasagna noodle. Add meat marinara on top. Add 2 additional slices of provolone. Top with the final layer of lasagna noodle.
- Braid the puff pastry: Fold over the sides of the lasagna noodles from the base layer until the lasagna is covered, using a little ricotta as glue if needed. Starting from the top, fold down the flap, then alternate right and left until you reach the last two. Fold up the bottom flap and finish alternating the last strips to seal. Brush puff pastry with beaten egg. Transfer to the oven and bake for 25 minutes rotating once.
- Make the garlic butter: Melt the butter. Stir in parsley and minced garlic. After the lasagna braid has baked for 25 minutes, remove from oven and brush with the garlic butter mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes more and remove. Allow to cool before serving.
Watch the recipe video here:
Forget Skittles, we always knew the rainbow tasted like lasagna.Taste for Yourself: taste.md/2IBaunV
Posted by Tastemade on Thursday, June 14, 2018
