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http://media.ny1.com/media/2010/11/9/video/COOKtuesday_2690830.mp4

Click to watch the video here 

Today’s recipe for lasagna uses "no boiling required" lasagna sheets, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and a milk-based béchamel sauce instead of marinara sauce.

Ingredients:
1 box "no boiling required" lasagna sheets
6 tbs butter
6 tbs all-purpose flour
3 cups of milk
1 bay leaf
Ground nutmeg
15 ounces ricotta cheese
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 large egg
1 box frozen spinach
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes
14 ounces artichoke hearts (use Cara Mia Artichokes in water)

Procedure:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and then use a deep, heavy-bottomed stainless steel pot to melt the butter. Add the all-purpose flour, whisk that in and let it cook along for a minute or two.

Next, add the milk, a bay leaf and a tiny sprinkling of ground nutmeg and whisk that occasionally as it comes up to a simmer. The idea with the béchamel is to let it simmer along just until it thickens up and then turn the heat off after about 10 minutes.

While keeping an eye on the sauce, use a mixing bowl to combine a tub of ricotta cheese, the grated mozzarella and parmesan cheese, an egg, a well-drained box of chopped frozen spinach, chopped sun-dried tomatoes and a can of well-drained, chopped artichoke hearts. Mix everything together.

Remove the bay leaf from the béchamel and place 3/4 cup of the sauce into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Top that with four pasta sheets, one-third of the cheese mixture and a little more béchamel. Add another layer of pasta sheets, another third of the cheese mixture and more béchamel, and then another pasta layer, the last third of the cheese mixture and some more béchamel. Top it all off with a last pasta layer and the last of the béchamel sauce.

Wrap the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil, place it on the center rack of the preheated oven and bake for about 30 minutes.