The Speares

Full recipe. You can also make this for two.

Get your blanching water heating up in a really big stock pot. Mine has its own strainer which is handy but not necessary. With the water on the stove, make two one-egg batches of pasta sheets. Cut a little bit smaller than your baking pan, which should be a 13x9 glass one. In my kitchen that means 3.6 litres for the good borosilicate pan or 2.8 litres for the cheap silica one. Anyhow we're concerned with noodle size so we want 13x9.

The easiest way to cut your noodles to the correct size is to lay them flat in the middle of your pan and then use a pizza cutter to cut them to just fit. Pans are smaller at the bottom than they are at the top so this will result in a 12 inch noodle, which, when blanched, will expand so you have noodles that are just a bit too big and so you have to have them "climbing" up the side of the pan a bit. Very artsy. Once you have at least four good noodles cut then blanch them for two minutes. Do two at a time. Once blanched put them on a rack or something to dry. If you end up with too many noodles, then blanch the extras and then bake them for ten minutes at 375. They turn into great crackers.

If using store-bought no-boil noodles, then instead of all of the above, go watch the news. I personally use Catelli no-boil gluten free lasagna noodles.

Carry on. Preheat oven to 375 (unless you're making this in advance and will cook it later).

Fry up in large soup pot:

• a bunch of cremini mushrooms chopped (at least a pound if this is mushroom lasagna, otherwise whatever looks good)
• 1 minced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

Sweat off all the liquid. Then add

• 1 green pepper chopped
• 1 540 ml can spicy red pepper tomatoes
• 1 398 ml can tomato sauce
• 1 156 ml can tomato paste
• 1 tsp dried basil
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp fennel seed crushed
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper

Get it simmering slowly. Meanwhile, if this is to be a meat lasagna, use a different pan to fry up

• 1 pound meat (sausage, beef, pork, whatever)

Drain grease and add meat to simmering sauce. For a veggie lasagna use a cup or two of frozen mixed veg instead of the meat. Let the sauce bubble gently until it is the consistency you like then turn off the burner. It should be not soupy, not dry. A touch on the sloppy side if using no-boil noodles, a touch on the not sloppy side if using blanched noodles. At this point, if this is a make-ahead lasagna or one you intend to freeze prior to baking, then cool off the sauce. If it's winter then maybe outside with a lid for an hour, otherwise in the fridge with a lid. If the lasagna is going in the oven right away then just carry on because the warm sauce won't bother the cheese much.

So when you're ready to assemble, mix together in medium bowl

• 1 egg
• 1 500g tub Cottage Cheese (or ricotta)
• ¼ cup parmesan cheese
• 1 TBSP dried parsley

Then get ready to assemble. Have handy your sauce, cottage cheese mixture and

• 1 package (2 or 3 cups) shredded cheese
• the noodles

To assemble: spread 1 cup of meat sauce in bottom of 13 x 9 baking dish. Put a layer of 4 Catelli noodles on top spaced evenly, or if using home-made noodles, then one sheet on one side of the pan with a bit of the noodle "climbing" up the three sides it touches. This will leave a space on one side of the pan as your noodles aren't nine inches wide. So cut one of your noodles in thirds and use a third of a noodle to cover the other side, again climbing up the three sides of the pan it touches, so as to make everything look even.

Once the bottom of the pan is covered with noodle then spread half of the cottage cheese mixture (about a cup) over the noodles. Then 2 cups of meat sauce, then 1 cup of shredded cheese. Another layer of noodles, another cup of cheese mixture, 2 more cups meat sauce and a cup of shredded cheese. Last layer of noodles, the rest of the meat sauce and shredded cheese (if any). The last row of noodles probably can't climb up the side of the pan as it is already at the top, so just let it hang over the edge a bit. Sprinkle everything with

• more parmesan cheese

Cover lasagna with foil and bake for

30 minutes at 375

Uncover and bake for an additional

20 minutes at 375

Let it rest for 10 minutes before cutting.

Supper time! Recipe freezes nicely prior to baking and can be cooked from frozen - give it more time covered with foil. Serve with Caesar Salad.

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