Follow This Martha Stewart Tip For Perfectly Crisp Lasagna Edges
The ultimate in Italian comfort food, lasagna is one of those dishes that satisfy even the most intense of cheesy, carby, saucy cravings. Chunky tomatoes, ground beef, and fluffy ricotta stuffed in between thick, doughy sheet noodles and smothered in melted mozzarella cheese? We'll take a slice (or two or three). There are so many variations of the classic dish, whether you're a vegetarian looking for a meatless version or someone who'd rather have Alfredo sauce and chicken than marinara sauce and beef.
No matter which type of lasagna you're making, however, the general process is the same: build your alternating layers of pasta, filling, and cheese, and then pop it in the oven to bake. But there are a few common mistakes that people make when they're whipping up a batch of lasagna at home. One of those faux pas, according to Martha Stewart, can prevent you from getting those coveted crispy edges. Here's what the domestic goddess says to do instead.
Don't bake your lasagna in a glass pan
When you're about to bake a lasagna, you might reach for your trusty glass 13x9 pan. While there's nothing inherently wrong with using that, Martha recommends opting for an enameled cast-iron or ceramic pan. In a recent Instagram post, she explained that these two types conduct heat and maintain temperature better than their glass counterparts, resulting not only in an evenly-cooked dish but also those perfectly crispy, perfectly browned edges.
Some chefs also say that stainless steel baking pans can produce the same results. "The [stainless steel] pan cooks lasagna nice and evenly, giving you a great caramelization of the pasta along the sides," Julian Marucci, executive chef at Tagliata in Baltimore told Oprah Magazine. One other thing to keep in mind if you care about crispy edges? The depth of the pan. Kitchen Seer says a depth of three inches is the perfect amount to brown the edges while allowing the center to cook through.