The liberation of lasagna

My old hand-cranked fresh-pasta machine came out of the cabinet the other day. And that meant it was time to make lasagna.

After all these years, it still seems like magic to me: the way a few turns of a handle can turn a lumpy dough into pure silk. And how easily something so simple can turn into a dish so profound.

The pasta, cut into squares and boiled briefly, gets brushed lightly with pesto and layered with intensely flavored roasted tomatoes, a dollop of moist cheese, more roasted tomatoes.

After a quick trip into a hot oven right on individual plates, out come these gorgeous dishes, the epitome of rustic elegance.

But wait, you’re saying, that’s not lasagna.

Well, in my house it is. And this free-form style shows off the luxurious silkiness of fresh pasta better than any dish I’ve ever had.

Because the sheets are left wide and not sliced into little ribbons, you get the full impact of the pasta’s wonderful texture.

That’s why, even if I’ve gone a year without making fresh noodles, this lasagna — whether it’s made with tomatoes, wild mushrooms, zucchini or poached shellfish — is always the very first thing I make.

In a traditional Italian-American lasagna — with all of that long-cooked ragu, ricotta and mozzarella, maybe even some white sauce, or — the delicacy of fresh pasta gets lost in the midst of all that delicious gush.

But strip away the lushness, pare the dish to its essentials, and something new appears: Lasagna that seems elegant.

Paradoxically, getting rid of some of the richness makes the dish seem more luxurious rather than less.

This lasagna is so flexible it’ll adapt to almost any kind of filling. Having just been to the farmers market for late summer and early fall vegetables, it seemed obvious how I should proceed.

First, I roasted tomatoes to concentrate their flavor. I made a slightly thicker version of pesto and brushed the pasta sheets with that. A little minced garlic and parsley mixed into fresh ricotta and I was ready to go.

Moistened pasta sheet, a dollop of ricotta, roasted tomatoes, another moistened pasta sheet, and a few more tomatoes scattered on top for garnish. Into the oven for 10 minutes and it was done.

That’s the basic template; the variations are endless.

For a different version, I sliced zucchini lengthwise to mimic the thickness of the pasta sheets, grilled it briefly and added it to the pan with deglazed wine and onions. The sauce in this case was lightly reduced cream, delicately flavored with lemon zest, fresh thyme and a little Parmigiano-Reggiano.

This early in the fall, butternut squash is still moist and cooks quickly. So I cut it into cubes and sauteed it just until it was lightly browned and tender — it didn’t take more than 10 minutes.

To point up the sweet flavor of the squash, I seasoned the ricotta with sharp minced shallots, nutmeg and plenty of black pepper. The sauce was nothing more than butter melted with shallots, fresh rosemary and a little white wine. You’ll want to use a generous grating of Parmigiano on this one — it marries perfectly with the squash.

Those are just a few of the options. What about substituting roasted and peeled red peppers for the tomatoes and flavoring the ricotta with some sharp pecorino? Use the same pesto for the sauce.

Or use wild mushrooms as the featured ingredient in place of the winter squash. Saute them in butter first and cut back on the black pepper and nutmeg. Cook them over high heat and for long enough to evaporate the liquid they express to get the most concentrated flavor. The rosemary butter will be perfect.

Of course, there’s no need to restrict yourself to vegetable fillings. One of the first times I saw free-form lasagna was in a little seafood restaurant outside Pisa. The main ingredient was lightly poached shellfish and the sauce tasted like reduced cream and shrimp stock. It was heavenly.

Or cook crumbled Italian sausage and make a capery fresh tomato sauce. Slivered green olives would be good in the ricotta mix for this one.

You can even use the same long-simmered meat ragu you love with traditional lasagna. Shred or chop the meat into small pieces and brush or spoon the sauce over the pasta.

This lighter touch lets each ingredient shine through more.

In theory, you could make these dishes with dried pasta. But, honestly, using anything but fresh would be beside the point. That’s not prejudice — dried and fresh are just different materials, like wool and silk. The pleasure of a good dried pasta is in its hearty, chewy texture. The fresh slip of fresh pasta is what makes lasagna special.

For a long time there was so much prestige attached to fresh pasta that people automatically assumed it must be hard to make.

Really, it couldn’t be easier.

Making fresh pasta

Mix the dough in the food processor:

Pulse one egg and a little olive oil for every three-quarters cup of flour just until the mixture forms a ball that rolls around on the top of the blade.

Remove the ball from the machine and knead it by hand until it is silky and smooth — this will take about a dozen turns (if the dough seems too wet and sticky at first, dust it very lightly with flour).

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for one hour.

When you’re ready to make the noodles, cut off a piece of dough and pass it through the pasta machine using progressively thinner settings until you have a very thin sheet.

As the sheet gets thinner, more moisture will be expressed, so keep dusting it lightly with flour. Also, be sure to keep cutting it to a manageable size.

That’s all there is to it.

When the sheet is thin enough, dust it lightly with flour one more time to discourage sticking and set it aside while you prepare the rest of the dough.

You ought to give it a rest of at least half an hour between the kneading and the rolling. Skip it and the tight glutens will tend to make the pasta twist and curl and the incomplete hydration of the flour will turn the sheet raggedy on the thinner settings.

Once you’ve cut the sheets into the appropriately sized squares, you can go ahead and cook them as much as two hours before you’re going to serve them.

Cook them in a big pot of boiling water, but only four or five at a time to keep them from sticking together. They’re done as soon as they float to the surface.

Transfer them to a bowl of cold water and flatten them slightly to make sure they don’t wrinkle and stick. You’ll only need to pat them dry with a tea towel before brushing with sauce and assembling.

What’s more, these free-form lasagne are nowhere near as delicate or time-consuming to fix as they appear to be. The components can be prepared hours — even as much as a day — in advance. Assemble them an hour before serving and all that’s necessary is a 10-minute heating in the oven to be ready to eat.

It all comes together so easily and tastes so good that I think that old pasta maker might never go back into a cabinet again.

Free-form lasagna with slow-roasted tomatoes and pesto

1/4cup flour, plus more for dusting

1/2cup plus 4 teaspoons olive oil, divided

1egg

1pound ripe tomatoes, peeled and cut into 8 lengthwise slices each (see note)

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1cup whole-milk ricotta cheese

2cloves garlic, plus Z\x teaspoon minced garlic, divided

1tablespoon minced parsley

2cups basil leaves

2tablespoons toasted pine nuts

1/4cup grated pecorino Romano cheese

Make fresh pasta dough by pulsing the flour and 4 teaspoons olive oil in a food processor. Add the egg and pulse until the dough forms a ball that rides around on the top of the blade. Remove the dough from the food processor and knead until smooth and shiny; this should take only about a minute.

Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Roll the pasta dough out very thin, about a 6 setting on most machines, flouring as necessary. The sheets should be at least 4 inches wide. Cut the pasta sheets into squares, dust lightly with flour and set aside until ready to use.

Cook four or five pasta sheets at a time in plenty of rapidly boiling salted water. The pasta will be done when sheets float to the surface, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the boiling water and drain on a tea towel if using immediately or transfer to a large bowl of water to store. Repeat, using all of the pasta.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the tomato slices on a rack, drizzle with one-fourth cup olive oil, and season with one-fourth teaspoon salt and a couple grinds of black pepper. Roast the tomatoes for 40 minutes, until the surface is lightly caramelized and the tomatoes are softened. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

While the tomatoes are cooking, beat together the ricotta, one-fourth teaspoon salt, minced garlic and parsley in a small bowl until thoroughly mixed. Set aside.

To make the pesto, drop the garlic cloves through the feed tube of a running food processor or blender and mince until fine. Turn the machine off and add the basil leaves. With the machine running again, slowly pour the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil through the food tube. Add the pine nuts and pecorino Romano and pulse to combine and season to taste with salt.

(The dish can be prepared to this point several hours in advance. The tomatoes and the pesto can be held at room temperature or refrigerated; the ricotta should be refrigerated; and the cooked pasta sheets should be stored in a large bowl of water. Bring the pesto and ricotta to room temperature, warm the tomatoes in a skillet over low heat and drain the pasta sheets and pat dry on a tea towel before using.)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place one square of the cooked pasta on a heat-proof plate and brush on enough of the pesto to thinly coat the sheet. Spoon 1/4 cup of ricotta in a low mound in the center. Arrange about three slices of roasted tomatoes on top of the ricotta. Brush one more pasta square with the pesto, and place this on top of the tomatoes. Repeat with three more plates.

Place the plates on a cookie sheet and place in the oven to heat through, about 8 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Note: In season, this recipe is wonderful with heirloom tomatoes; otherwise use Roma tomatoes.

Makes 4 servings. Per serving: 578 calories; 16 grams protein; 26 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams fiber; 47 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 92 milligrams cholesterol; 497 milligrams sodium.

Free-form butternut squash lasagna

1/4cup flour, plus more for dusting

4teaspoons olive oil

1egg

1/2cup plus 3 tablespoons butter

1(2-pound) butternut squash, peeled and cut into Z\x-inch cubes

1 1/2teaspoons chopped rosemary, divided

1 1/2teaspoons minced shallots, divided

1/4teaspoon salt plus more to taste, divided

1/2cup dry white wine

Freshly ground black pepper

Grated nutmeg

1cup whole-milk ricotta

Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Make fresh pasta dough by pulsing the flour and olive oil in a food processor. Add the egg and pulse until the dough forms a ball that rides around on the top of the blade. Remove the dough from the food processor and knead until smooth and shiny; this should take only a minute or so. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Roll the pasta dough very thin, about a 6 setting on most machines, adding flour as necessary. The sheets should be at least 4 inches wide. Cut the sheets into squares, dust lightly with flour and set aside until ready to use.

Heat 3 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter has foamed and subsided , add the cubed squash, 1 teaspoon chopped rosemary, Z\x teaspoon minced shallots and salt to taste. Cook, tossing occasionally, until the squash has lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and cook until the squash is tender, about 5 more minutes. Using a slotted spoon, gently remove the squash from the pan to a medium bowl. Add the wine to the pan and cook over medium-high heat, scraping the browned bits from the pan and reducing the wine to a glaze, about 5 minutes. Add the squash back to the pan, and toss to coat with the glaze. Season generously with freshly ground black pepper and a light grating of fresh nutmeg. Set aside.

In a small bowl, beat together the ricotta, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon minced shallots and freshly ground black pepper and a light grating of fresh nutmeg.

Cook four or five pasta sheets at a time in plenty of rapidly boiling salted water. The pasta will be done when the sheets float to the surface, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the boiling water and drain on a tea towel if using immediately or transfer to a large bowl of water to store. Repeat, using all of the pasta.

(The dish can be prepared to this point several hours in advance. The squash can be held at room temperature or refrigerated; the ricotta should be refrigerated; the cooked pasta sheets should be stored in a large bowl of water. Bring the ricotta to room temperature, warm the squash in a skillet over low heat, and drain the pasta sheets and pat them dry on a tea towel before using.)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt 1/2 cup butter in a skillet over medium heat with 1 teaspoon minced shallots and 1/2 teaspoon minced rosemary. When the butter is melted and fragrant, set it aside.

Place 1 pasta square on a heat-proof plate and brush with the melted butter. Spoon 1/4cup of ricotta in a low mound in the center. Arrange a loose mound of about Z\c cup of cooked squash on top. Dust generously with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Place another pasta square on top of that and brush again with the melted butter. Scatter more squash cubes on top, and dust with another generous grating of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Repeat with three more plates.

Arrange the plates on a cookie sheet and place in the oven to heat through, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings. Per serving: 672 calories; 13 grams protein; 43 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams fiber; 48 grams fat; 28 grams saturated fat; 175 milligrams cholesterol; 293 milligrams sodium.