Batch-cooked ricotta, fennel and sausage lasagne

Recipe from Poppy O’Toole · original post · full recipe on poppycooks.com

A cheeky lasagne that swaps béchamel for lemony ricotta. Make it ahead, freeze it and bake it straight from frozen.

Serves 8Kid-friendly

PorkPastaBakeFreezer friendlyItalian

Ingredients

pork sausages — meat squeezed out12 ea
salted butter50 g
leeks — thinly sliced2 ea
fennel bulbs — finely diced2 ea
garlic cloves — minced or grated6 ea
rosemary2 sprig
plain flour50 g
chicken stock700 ml
double cream250 ml
baby spinach — washed200 g
ricotta500 g
lemons — zest only2 ea

Cooking for a different diet?

Swaps that keep this dish what it is. The prices on this page are for the recipe as written.

Vegetarian
Batch-cooked ricotta, fennel and vegetarian sausage lasagne
- 720 g Vegetarian sausages instead of pork sausages
- 700 ml Vegetable stock instead of chicken stock
Chop or crumble the vegetarian sausages and fry for 4–5 minutes until golden, adding a little oil as they release less fat; the rest is unchanged.
Gluten-free
- 720 g Gluten-free pork sausages instead of pork sausages
- 40 g Cornflour instead of plain flour
- 400 g Gluten-free lasagne sheets instead of dried lasagne sheets
Mix the cornflour into a splash of cold stock and stir it in after the rest of the stock instead of cooking a roux; gluten-free sheets may need covering with foil for the first 30 minutes so the top layer does not dry out.

Swaps are suggestions — check labels if you are cooking for an allergy.

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Not priced

pork sausages · 12 items
salted butter · 50 g
leeks · 2 items
fennel bulbs · 2 items
garlic cloves · 6 items
rosemary · 2 sprig
plain flour · 50 g
chicken stock · 700 ml
double cream · 250 ml
baby spinach · 200 g
ricotta · 500 g
lemons · 2 items
dried lasagne sheets · 400 g
cheddar · 100 g

Method

Heat a large saute pan over a high heat and add the sausage meat. Use a spatula to break it up into small chunks, then fry for 7-8 mins until golden brown. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat behind, and set aside in a bowl.
Turn the heat down to medium. Chuck the butter into the pan and add the leeks and fennel, frying for 5-6 mins until softened but not coloured. Add the garlic and the herb sprigs and cook for 1 min until fragrant, then season with salt and pepper.
Spoon the flour into the vegetable mixture and stir to combine. Cook out for 3-4 mins, stirring regularly, until thickened. Gradually add the chicken stock, bringing to the boil between each addition and ensuring everything is mixed in. Keep going until you've added all the stock.
Stir in the double cream, chuck in the spinach to wilt, then give everything a good mix to combine. Season generously and add a grating of nutmeg to taste. Add the sausage meat back to the pan and fish out the whole herbs to discard.
In a separate bowl, stir together the ricotta, lemon zest and a large pinch each of salt and pepper.
To assemble, divide the sausage filling and ricotta between your ovensafe dishes, layering them up between lasagne sheets (start with a layer of sausage filling, then pasta sheets, then ricotta and so on, then finish with a layer of ricotta). Sprinkle with equal amounts of cheese.
To enjoy now, preheat the oven to 200c/180c fan. Place the lasagne on a baking tray (to catch the drips) and pop it into the oven to bake for 45-50 mins until the pasta is cooked through, the filling is bubbling and the top is golden (cover with foil if at any point the top seems to be browning too quickly). Leave to stand for 10 mins before serving.