I bought “oven-ready” lasagna sheets, with the idea of making some kind of simple baked pasta dish … but I need my fellow Dopers to help me work out a few details.
I’m not looking to make lasagna, so much as I am trying to re-create eating baked noodles with heaps of gooey, stringy cheese all over them. So no meat sauce, and I’m hoping to skip any bechamel sauces unless they’re necessary.
Can I simply layer the noodles with shredded mozzarella, and bake those two things together? Cheese on top, of course, to provide a protective layer over the noodles and to get that browned Maillard goodness.
Would briefly cooking the noodles for, like, a minute, help the texture? (I’m aware that tomato sauce etc. bring a lot of moisture to lasagna that’s expected to be absorbed by the pasta.)
What about cooked, buttere egg noodles … could I plop a handful of shredded cheese on those and just bake that?
Sure. I think I might use something other than flat egg noodles though, but I’m not sure what.
I can’t tell if you’re just after mac & cheese without having to make a sauce or wouldn’t mind throwing a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce in there.
If you have a good large non-stick pan, you could melt a tablespoon or two of butter in it, throw in the cooked noodles, toss them around in the butter, then throw cheese on top and just do a bunch of flipping. It’d be faster than baking.
You could even let it sit still for a minute or two after it’s all mixy cheesy, and let the cheese on the bottom burn a little bit. That would be a great time to hit the top with a little hint of tomato sauce.
I think the oven ready noodles will absorb a lot of liquid. If it were me I’d add a pint of chicken or beef stock to give it some moisture, otherwise it’s going to be pretty arid.
If you want ooey-gooey you’re going to have to do more than plop the cheese on the noodles. The cheese will seize up as soon as it starts to cool. I know you don’t want to make a bechemal, but anybody who knows how to spell it knows that they need it.
Aye; the key to lasagna is the ricotta cheese. Without it, the mozzarella is just going to re-solidify.
By the way: YOU CANNOT MAKE LASAGNA WITH COTTAGE CHEESE! THAT IS AN ABOMINATION AND SHOULD NEVER BE DONE!
(Sorry for yelling; just really wanted to make sure I made my point.)
I make lasagna with oven-ready noodles all the time; they’re fine. They absorb moisture from the ricotta cheese and the tomato sauce (and veggies) without my having to add extra water.
Have you thought of doing a noodle/cheese layer dish that has an egg mixture poured over it and baked? With a final layer of shredded cheese on top you’d get ooey-gooey cheese through out. Any minute now I’m going to remember what that type of dish is called and I gave my Joy of Cooking to my son so…I wanted you to have the idea in case you or another ‘Doper can remember the name or a recipe.
Still would have to compensate for the liquid oven ready flat noodles need. As I remember it’s a significant amount, so the broth idea is a good one.
Have you tried going to the web site of the noodle maker to see if they offer cheese and noodle recipes?
I’ll be back if I remember the name of the noodle/egg dish. Right after I get back from looking for a Joy of Cooking at thrift shops.
You’re going to need something to hydrate the pasta, and cheese alone won’t do that - so you could soak or parboil the pasta first. Also, for the cheesy sauce interlayer, consider using a tub of cheese spread mixed with actual cheese - a lot of cheese spreads are essentially cheese sauce that has been allowed to set.
Aside: what purpose do eggs serve in all the “cheesy-noodle-bake” recipes I’ve been looking up?
They’re never omitted - and the vegan versions go to great lengths to recreate them - so they must play some vital role.
Can anyone enlighten me?
