The Countertop Oven Class

Grant Crilly is the Executive Director and cofounder of ChefSteps. Grant is a classically trained chef and, prior to ChefSteps, he worked on the award-winning cookbook series Modernist Cuisine and cooked at various restaurants, including L’Astrance in Paris, Busaba in Mumbai, and Mistral Kitchen in Seattle.

Grant Crilly

Recently, Grant shared a story about his favorite lasagna, which he makes with fresh pasta, béchamel, ground cheese, fresh tomato sauce, and a spinach-basil blend. Then, he sears slices of it for crunchy, oozy lasagna. (Sometimes he eats lasagna for breakfast this way.) After reading the email, you wanted us to make this lasagna recipe for you. We listened to you. Get ready to make lasagna. Grant focuses on two principles for making lasagna. Make fresh pasta to make sheets as fine as possible, for lots and lots of layers. (People forget that lasagna is a pasta dish. Make amazing pasta.) He also reduces the moisture in the lasagna, by blanching and squeezing dry the spinach and basil, and only uses enough tomato sauce and béchamel to make incredible lasagna, not a goopy mess with pounds of melted cheese. Want to take this lasagna to the next level? Bake the lasagna, refrigerate it overnight (or, let’s be honest, refrigerate the last bit of lasagna after eating well with your friends or family), then slice it up. Have you ever eaten seared slices of lasagna? You should. You really, really should. Make this and throw a lasagna party soon.

24-Layer Lasagna