Three-cheese lasagna brings soothing warmth to the dinner table

When it's time for a little comfort, behold the lasagna. A bubbling deep-dish lasagna may not solve the world's problems, but it's guaranteed to bring soothing warmth to your dinner table. During the winter, the instinct is to layer up — in clothing, in bedding, and, in this case, with a hefty pasta dish. This lasagna fills the brief: It's a stacked creation, layered with pasta sheets and sturdy kale leaves, smothered in a rich and meaty tomato sauce, oozing ricotta and gratineed piquant cheese.

This recipe calls for uncooked lasagna sheets, which removes the extra step of precooking the pasta. Using all the sauce and then covering the dish with foil will create the steam needed to cook the lasagna sheets. If you prefer a vegetarian recipe, the sauce can be made without the meat. Note that the kale can be omitted — but think twice before doing so. It adds another layer of color, texture and nutrients to this moreish meal.

Three-Cheese Lasagna

Active time: 40 minutes

Total time: 2 hours

Yield: Makes one 8-by-10-inch lasagna

Ingredients

Meat sauce:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 pound ground beef

1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 (28-ounce) can crushed Italian plum tomatoes

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste

Ricotta:

16 ounces whole-milk ricotta

1 large egg, lightly whisked

1/3 cup (packed) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese

1/4 cup heavy cream or half-and-half, plus more for drizzling if needed

1 garlic clove, grated

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Assembly:

1 (16-ounce) box lasagna sheets

1 bunch Tuscan kale, tough ribs removed, leaves torn in large pieces (optional)

1 (8-ounce) container fresh mozzarella ciliegine (little balls), drained and coarsely torn

1 cup (packed) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese

Directions

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the beef and cook until golden brown in spots, 6 to 8 minutes, stirring as needed. (Take your time with this process. The meat will release its juices and then brown while the juices nearly evaporate. This will contribute deep flavor to the sauce.)

Add the onion and continue to cook until it softens, about 3 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic, oregano and crushed red pepper and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and stir to slightly cook, about 1 minute more. Add the tomatoes, vinegar, salt and black pepper. Simmer the sauce, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste for seasoning. (The sauce can be prepared up to one day in advance of assembling the lasagna. Refrigerate until use.)

Whisk the ricotta ingredients in a bowl until smooth.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Spoon a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. Place a layer of lasagna sheets over the sauce, breaking them to fit to size as necessary. Smear some of the ricotta over the lasagna sheets. If using kale, arrange a layer of leaves over the ricotta. Drop dollops of the sauce over the kale (or ricotta). Scatter some of the mozzarella balls over the sauce, then sprinkle some of the grated cheese over them.

Repeat the layering process, gently pressing down on the layers as you stack the lasagna. Finish the layering with the cheese. (You may not use all of the lasagna sheets.) Dribble any remaining sauce around the edges of the lasagna to fill any gaps. If you do not have any extra sauce, then drizzle a little cream instead.

Cover the dish with foil and transfer to the oven. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the lasagna is tender all the way through when pierced with a knife, the cheese is bubbling and the top is golden brown, about 15 minutes more. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Lynda Balslev is an award-winning writer, cookbook author and recipe developer, and authors the blog TasteFood.