Brandade Lasagna with Broccoli Rabe
Sauce:
- 1 small onion, chopped into ¼-inch dice
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2½ cups diced tomatoes (high-quality canned tomatoes are fine)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt
- 1½ pounds broccoli rabe, tough or split stems removed, rinsed
- 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 large leeks, white part only, trimmed of roots and tough outer leaves, thinly sliced crosswise, and swirled vigorously in a bowl of cold water to remove any grit
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- ¼ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
- Eight 6×8-inch sheets Fresh Pasta
- 1 recipe Brandade de Morue
- ½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1¼ cups freshly grated Pecorino Romano
- 4 teaspoons capers, rinsed, for garnish
Instructions:
By itself, brandade would be too rich a filler for lasagna —you’d be sated after a bite or two—but the sharp flavor of broccoli rabe and the mild acid of the tomato sauce keep the brandade in line.
- Heat the olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, about a minute. Add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and add the sugar and red pepper flakes. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. If the sauce seems too thick, thin it with a little water as it cooks.
- Transfer the sauce to a blender and purée. Strain, if desired, and set aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season with salt. Prepare a large bowl of ice water. Add the broccoli rabe to the boiling water and cook at a rolling boil until tender, about 4 minutes. Scoop out the broccoli and plunge it into the ice water. When it’s chilled, drain and pat dry. Coarsely chop and set aside.
- Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the leeks, season with salt and pepper, and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, about a minute. Add the broccoli rabe and red pepper flakes, season with salt and pepper, and toss well. Remove from the heat and let cool.
- Bring a fresh pot of water to a boil and season with salt. Prepare another bowl of ice water. Lay out a sheet of plastic wrap on the counter large enough to hold one sheet of pasta. Add the pasta sheets to the boiling water and blanch for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Drain the sheets in a colander, then immediately plunge them into the ice bath. Stir the sheets gently until they’ve cooled, about 30 seconds. Remove one pasta sheet, drain, and lay it out on the plastic wrap. Cover with a second sheet of plastic, then remove and drain a second pasta sheet, lay it on top of the first, and cover with plastic. (Work quickly; if you leave the pasta sheets in the water too long, they’ll stick together.) Repeat the process with the remaining sheets, then cover with a final layer of plastic wrap. Set aside until ready to use.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Rub a 9×13-inch lasagna pan with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Mix the brandade with the parsley. Lay 2 of the pasta sheets side by side in the pan so the bottom is covered. Spread the sheets evenly with one-third of the brandade. Top with one-third of the leek and broccoli rabe mixture, sprinkle with ¼ cup of the cheese, and cover with 2 more sheets of pasta. Repeat the layering two more times, finishing with a final layer of pasta sheets. Brush the top with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup Pecorino Romano.
- Bake the lasagna for 25 minutes, or until it is heated through and the top is lightly browned. Let rest for 5 minutes before cutting.
- While the lasagna is resting, warm the sauce. Cut the lasagna into 4 equal pieces. Make a pool of warm tomato sauce in the center of each plate. Set a serving of lasagna in the center of each pool of sauce. Sprinkle with the capers and serve.