hooray for Hollywood

Lasagna made with fresh gluten-free lasagna sheets!

Rob declared this the best gluten-free lasagna we’ve had yet. The girls licked their plates clean. I had seconds.

It was the usual recipe, so what made this lasagna different from all other lasagnas I’ve made?

The pasta was fresh.

I took the noodles out of the package and simply started layering. No muss, no fuss. No starchy, slippery, wet noodles falling apart or sticking together. If you’ve ever boiled gluten-free lasagna noodles, you know what I’m talking about. And not only was it easier and more time effective to make lasagna with fresh pasta, it tasted so much better. Once you go fresh, you never go back!

Hollywood Foods is the place to go for fresh gluten-free pasta. The thing about their pasta is that it’s made from a rice-free egg noodle, so it tastes like real
authentic pasta and holds together way better than its rice-based competitors. Located on Ossington north of Queen West, Hollywood Foods sells its gluten-free products under the brand Antipastos Kitchen. If you can’t make it there, in October you’ll be able to find their cut pasta, ravioli and gnocchi—along with several frozen gluten-free entrees—at supermarket and specialty stores throughout the GTA. Entrees will include meat and vegetarian lasagna, manicotti, meat and veg cabbage rolls, eggplant Parmigiana (can’t wait for that!) and a variety of raviolis and gnocchis.

If you want to impress your family and friends and make your own lasagna with Hollywood Foods/Antipastos Kitchen fresh GF noodles, read on for the recipe…

Up close and personal

Gluten-free lasagna with spinach and fresh basil

This recipe is courtesy of Gluten-Free Consultant JoAnne Bennett Mirsky.
(I added the greens.) It looks like a lot of steps but it’s really so simple.

1 box of gluten-free lasagna noodles (I highly recommend Hollywood Foods/Antipastos Kitchen fresh lasagna sheets)
1 jar of tomato basil sauce or 3 cups homemade tomato sauce (the homemade sauce from Bologna Pastificio on Dufferin just south of Lawrence is delizioso!)
1 container ricotta cheese (I like Santa Lucia)
1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella
1 package baby spinach
a few fresh basil leaves

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 1 rectangular Pyrex or 2 square Pyrex dishes with nonstick spray and set aside.

(Now would be the time to boil water and cook the lasagna noodles, but with fresh lasagna sheets from Hollywood Foods you can skip that part!)

Spread a generous layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of the Pyrex dish.

Arrange a single layer of lasagna noodles on top of sauce, completely covering the dish.

Sprinkle ricotta cheese, then Parmesan, followed by mozzarella.

Cover the cheese with a layer of baby spinach.

Arrange a second layer of noodles on top of the spinach and spread another layer of tomato sauce over the noodles.

Sprinkle ricotta, Parmesan and mozzarella.

Cover the cheese with a layer of baby spinach.

Arrange a third and final layer of noodles on top of the spinach and spread
another layer of tomato sauce over the noodles.

Sprinkle ricotta, Parmesan and a very generous layer of mozzarella (more so than the other layers because you need it to cover the top of the lasagna).

Bake COVERED for 30 minutes and then UNCOVER and bake for 15 more minutes.

Let stand a few minutes and serve. Mangia bene!

(If you don’t eat it all up, this dish freezes well. Just let it cool, wrap it up tight and stick it in the freezer.)