Recipe: Fresh Ricotta for a Big Lasagna
/Local food writer and chef, Samin Nosrat, is my favorite kind of cook. If you’ve read her book Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat or seen her Netflix travel cooking show of the same name, you see how she exudes warmth and generosity. Her recipes tend to be simple and her emphasis is on sharing food and using food to show your love.
Food has always been that for me. I love to bake a cake for someone on their birthday, drop biscuits off on someone’s doorstep or, ideally, gather around a table. One of the hardest parts of quarantine has been a lack of community - in the garden and in my dining room. I was hiking in Joaquin Miller Park recently and saw the most idyllic picnic spot in the redwoods. I’m fantasizing about the potluck bbq we will have up there once social distancing guidelines have been lifted.
And, I know I’m not alone! So not alone in fact that Samin wrote an article about it in the NYTimes. Her answer is to invite everyone to participate in a Big Lasagna Party on Sunday night. The idea is a simple one; make a lasagna for dinner on Sunday. If you want to celebrate, Samin will be hosting a grand lasagna dinner on Instagram Live (Sunday at 4pm PST). I will use any excuse to make a lasagna.
You can really cook any beloved lasagna recipe, though hers is in the NYTimes cooking section. And if you are really feeling like making a weekend of it, might I suggest making your own. Ricotta is soooo easy and one of those cooking projects that is well worth the extra effort. There are plenty of things that are not worth making from scratch but to me, ricotta is not one of those things.
I hope whatever you cook this weekend, it is delicious.
