Dairy Lasagna

6–8 servings · Prep 15 min · Total 1 h 25 min

Ingredients

• 12 lasagna sheetsNo-boil sheets, used dry.
• 530 g crushed tomatoes (¾ of a large can)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• ½ cup boiling waterDeliberate: thins the sauce to what the dry sheets need to absorb, without watering down the tomato.
• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp dried basil or oregano
• ⅓ tsp salt
• A pinch of black pepper
• 250 g white cheese
• 200 g shredded yellow cheese, plus ½ cup for the top
• 100 g crumbled Bulgarian cheese
• Optional: ¾ cup chopped green olives
• Optional: 1 can chopped mushrooms

Steps

1. Heat the oven to 190°C.
2. Mix the sauce in a bowl: tomatoes, tomato paste, olive oil, boiling water, garlic, sugar, herbs, salt, and pepper.
3. Mix the three cheeses in a second bowl.
4. Oil a 20×29 cm pan and lay down 3 sheets.Break sheets to fit the corners.
5. Spread ¼ of the sauce, ⅓ of the cheese mix, and ⅓ of the add-ins.
6. Repeat to 4 sheet layers, finishing with the last ¼ of sauce and the extra yellow cheese.The cheese mix and add-ins divide over the first three layers only; the top layer gets sauce and yellow cheese.
7. Check that every sheet is covered in sauce.Dry corners stay hard.
8. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
9. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes more, until golden.
10. Rest for 15 minutes before slicing.

Notes

• The sheets need no pre-boiling; they soften on the sauce while baking.
• Can be assembled a day or two ahead and kept refrigerated, then baked before serving.