Skillet Lasagna

I'm making this tonight, and someone requested the recipe, so here it is.


SERVES 4-6

Ingredients

3 (14.5 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
salt
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 lb ground meat mix (whatever mix of ground beef or turkey, or ground pork, or sausage that you desire)
10 curly-edged lasagna noodles, broken into 2-inch lengths (about 8 oz)
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
pepper
3/4 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
3 tbsp minced fresh basil

Directions

1. Pour the tomatoes with their juice into a blender, pulse until no big chunks remain (about 12 pulses)
   
2. Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the ground meat and cook, breaking up the meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
   
4. Scatter the noodle pieces evenly over the meat. Pour the processed tomatoes over the pasta. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to simmer, stirring often, until the pasta is tender, about 20 minutes.
5. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in half the mozzarella and half the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dot heaping tablespoons of the ricotta over the noodles, then sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover the skillet and let stand off the heat until the cheese melts, 2 to 4 minutes.
6. Sprinkle with the basil and serve.

This recipe is from Cook's Illustrated's The Best Skillet Recipes. One thing I'd like to add (after making this a couple of times) is you have to get past the mindset of lasagna layers. It felt weird to put all the broken noodles in one layer on top of the meat, because it's so ingrained in me to make lasagna in layers. But since you're stirring it all up as it cooks, there are no layers. That's also why it's so important to break the noodles up into small pieces. The bigger they are, the harder it is to stir, so don't feel sheepish about breaking those noodles up!

It's kind of weird to make lasagna in a skillet, but it turns out great and delicious, and in less than 30 minutes. The rest of my family are spice-wimps, so I always leave out the red pepper flakes, but I thought I'd include the whole recipe for those that want it all. Also, the fresh basil at the end is a nice garnish, but if you don't have any fresh basil, it tastes fine without it. For presentation's sake, though, the bright green makes it look beautiful.

Good luck!