National Lasagna Day: Celebrate with 5 mouth-watering recipes

Today is National Lasagna Day, and we’re in full support of a food holiday that celebrates a hot plate of melted cheese, creamy and meaty filling, hearty, slippery noodles and sauce. There are few things more comforting than lasagna, and if you’re Italian American, or even just a lover of the food, it’s a necessity.

And who hasn’t fought over the crunchy edges of a lasagna pan? It’s OK, we’ve all been there. No need to be embarrassed.

Layers of al dente noodles, cheese and tomato sauce make up the classic, but the variations are endless. You can put together a Mexican lasagna with poblano chiles and sour cream, or you can even go gluten-free with shaved zucchini noodles. Try a pink sauce with vodka or roll your noodles in a dish instead of layering them.

PHOTOS: Mouth-watering lasagna recipes

We’ve put together a list of five different lasagnas sure to make your mouth water. Check out our recipe for Mexican lasagna below and click through our lasagna gallery for more.

Mexican lasagna

Total time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Servings: 8 to 12

8 poblano chiles

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/2 onion, cut into rounds

1 cup corn kernels

1 chopped garlic clove

1 cup tomato sauce

1 cup vegetable broth

1 (8-ounce) container sour cream

15 ounces (1½ 10-ounce packages) cotija cheese, divided

9 pieces oven-ready lasagna

6 ounces quesadilla cheese (½ of a 12-ounce package), shredded

1. Prepare the chiles: Roast the chiles under the broiler or over a stove-top burner until the skin is charred on all sides. Peel the skin and seed the chiles, then cut lengthwise into long strips.

2. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

3. In a large sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the corn and chile strips, reduce the heat to low and continue to cook until the corn and chiles are warmed through. Remove from heat and set aside.

4. In a medium saucepan, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 1 minute. Add the tomato sauce and vegetable broth and heat until hot. Remove from heat and set aside.

5. In a food processor, combine the sour cream with two-thirds of the cotija cheese and blend until creamy but lumpy (this can also be done by hand in a large bowl, using the back of a spoon).

6. Line the base of a 13-by-9-inch baking or casserole dish with 3 lasagna noodles. Add one-half of the corn-chile mixture, distributing evenly over the noodles. Dollop one-half of the sour cream-cotija mixture over the corn and chiles. Place 3 more noodles in the pan, and repeat with the remaining corn-chile mixture and sour cream-cotija mix.

7. Place the 3 remaining noodles in the pan. Sprinkle the shredded quesadilla cheese and remaining cotija cheese over the noodles. Using a spoon, drizzle the thinned tomato sauce evenly over the noodles in the dish.

8. Cover the dish with foil and bake the lasagna for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheese is melted and golden, an additional 10 to 15 minutes.

Each of 12 servings: 376 calories; 22 grams protein; 23 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams fiber; 23 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 54 mg cholesterol; 3 grams sugar; 1,006 mg sodium.

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