Four Cheese Sausage Spinach Lasagna — The Promotion-Confirmation Dinner

Cody is on day five hundred and one of his sentence. The fiftieth Saturday visit was Saturday morning. He has one hundred and sixty-nine days remaining. The end of junior year is in two weeks. Finals start a week from Monday.

And the news Tuesday: Carlos came back from his three-week vacation and called me into the back office at the Sonic. He confirmed the full shift-lead promotion — pay rate now $10.25 an hour, weekend closing schedule mine to keep, and the path to assistant manager once I turn eighteen still on the table. He had been in his office reviewing the past three weeks of my closing-shift reports and he said, kid, you ran the place better than I run it. I tried not to grin and failed.

The recipe Sunday was four cheese sausage spinach lasagna because the promotion was confirmed and the recipe was the kind of milestone-celebration dinner the moment called for. The recipe is from A Family Feast. Lasagna noodles layered with Italian sausage, fresh spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, fontina, and a homemade marinara made from one of my pantry-shelf jars.

The math: lasagna noodles $1.49, Italian sausage $2.99, a 5-oz bag of spinach $1.99, a 15-oz container of ricotta $2.99, mozzarella $1.99, fontina $3.99 (sale at Aldi), a wedge of parmesan $0.50 worth, a pint jar of canned marinara from the pantry free, garlic, herbs from the rack. Total: about $15.94 for a 9-by-13 pan that fed Mama and me for four meals.

The technique is the layered build with par-cooked noodles. The four cheeses are the upgrade — ricotta in pockets in the middle, mozzarella throughout, parmesan and fontina layered on top.

Mama said, eating Sunday night, baby, this is the kind of pan that justifies a celebration.

The recipe is below. The trick is the four cheeses — ricotta in pockets in the middle, mozzarella spread evenly, parmesan and fontina on top.

Four Cheese Sausage Spinach Lasagna

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 55 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes | Servings: 10

Ingredients

• 12 lasagna noodles, cooked al dente and drained
• 1 lb Italian sausage (mild or hot), casings removed
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed very dry
• 1 (25 oz) jar marinara sauce
• 1 (14.5 oz) can crushed tomatoes
• 15 oz whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 1 large egg
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1 cup shredded provolone cheese, divided
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup shredded fontina cheese
• 1 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning, divided
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Olive oil for the pan

Instructions

1. Preheat and prepare. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with olive oil and set aside.
2. Brown the sausage. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the Italian sausage, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned and cooked through, about 7—8 minutes. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 4 minutes more. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook 1 minute until fragrant.
3. Build the meat sauce. Pour the marinara and crushed tomatoes into the skillet with the sausage mixture. Stir in 1 tsp of the Italian seasoning and season with salt and pepper. Simmer on medium-low for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. Remove from heat.
4. Mix the ricotta filling. In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, egg, fontina, half of the Parmesan (6 tbsp), the remaining 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Fold in the squeezed dry spinach until evenly combined.
5. Layer the lasagna. Spread a thin layer of meat sauce on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Lay 3 noodles over the sauce. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the noodles, then top with 1/4 of the remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the mozzarella and 1/3 of the provolone. Repeat these layers two more times (noodles, ricotta, sauce, cheese). For the final layer, lay the last 3 noodles, top with the remaining meat sauce, the remaining mozzarella, the remaining provolone, and the remaining Parmesan.
6. Bake covered. Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil (tent it slightly so the foil doesn’t stick to the cheese). Bake for 35 minutes.
7. Bake uncovered. Remove the foil and bake an additional 15—20 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown in spots and the edges are beginning to crisp.
8. Rest before serving. Remove from the oven and let the lasagna rest, uncovered, for at least 15 minutes before slicing. This allows the layers to set so you get clean, beautiful pieces.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 490 | Protein: 29g | Fat: 25g | Carbs: 37g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 830mg