This lasagna is creamy, cheesy and fresh tasting, but lighter than regular lasagna—though still rich. Since there are so few ingredients in this lasagna make sure your tomatoes are the BEST; they’re what makes this lasagna! Although this pan of lasagna looks very small,  it would certainly serve four people with very hearty appetites.

The original recipe—and the photo below—can be found at SortaChef, One Hot Cat in a Woodfired Kitchen. I changed the Béchamel sauce to one that more closely resembled the flavor of one I have made many times before—adding nutmeg, allspice and Parmesan cheese. I also added some chopped fresh basil and oregano, and changed the method a bit.

Fresh Tomato Lasagna

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds fresh ripe tomatoes—don’t use tomatoes purchased at the supermarket
• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, preferably buffalo, sliced thinly or shredded
• 4 Barilla no-boil lasagna noodles
• 3-5 cups water at 150º—half hot tap water and half boiling water if you don’t have an Instant Read Thermometer
• 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 4 teaspoons chopped fresh basil—more or less to taste
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano—more or less to taste
• Approximately ¾ teaspoon salt

For the Béchamel Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup milk (I used 1%, but whole milk is traditionally used)
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon finely ground pepper—or more to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• dash of allspice
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 375°.
2. Pour 3-5 cups very hot water (about 150°) into a loaf pan or casserole dish and slip the no-boil noodles in one at a time. Let noodles soak for 15 minutes.
3. Make the Béchamel sauce.
   • Heat milk in the microwave for one minute.
   • Melt butter in a quart-sized saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter is barely melted whisk in the flour and cook for 2 minutes. 
   • Turn off heat. Whisk in one-third of the milk and incorporate thoroughly before adding the next third.  Be sure the sauce is smooth before you add more milk.
   • Once you have successfully added all the milk and the sauce is hot and smooth, add in the salt, pepper, nutmeg and allspice.
   • Whisk in the egg. 
   • Turn the heat back on to medium and cook the sauce for 2 minutes.
   • Stir in the grated Parmesan. When the cheese has been incorporated, remove sauce from heat, cover tightly with a lid and set aside until ready to use.
4. Slice 8 ounces of Buffalo mozzarella (or another fresh mozzarella) into ¼ inch pieces.
5. Slice the tops and bottoms off of the tomatoes and discard or reserve for another use.
6. Cut the rest of each tomato into ¼ inch rounds or just chop coarsely.
7. Coarsely chop the basil and oregano.
8. In glass loaf pan build the lasagna in this order:
   • A layer of uncooked tomato slices, pack as many in there as you can.  Drizzle with your finest olive oil and sprinkle with ¼ t. salt, 1 t. basil and ½ t. oregano.
   • 1 lasagna noodle
   • ¼ of the mozzarella
   • ¼ of béchamel sauce spread evenly to all edges of the pan
   • Continue the sequence with remaining noodles and filling, finishing with a layer of tomato slices drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, basil and oregano.
9. Bake at 375° for 40-45 minutes, until béchamel has puffed up and the edges are bubbling.
10. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Thanks for dropping by my kitchen today!