Mini Lasagnas with Sweet Corn and Mascarpone

I saw this the other day on Giada's cooking show and printed it out immediately.  We love great pasta dishes in this house, so this was an easy choice.  The sweetness of the corn really makes it delicious!  And you cannot argue with that amount of cheese going into a dish!  Here is what I did:

Boil the lasagna noodles as directed by the box.  You need 12 for the recipe so be sure and do a few extra in case one or two tear or fall apart.  I didn't have a problem with them tearing.  Don't over cook the pasta, that is usually when it starts to fall apart. 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Butter the ramekins and prepare the creamy corn mixture in a food processor while the noodles are boiling.  I have had my black n decker food processor for about 9 years (bought it to make my oldest son's baby food and he is 9 now!).  I love using it to make quick pastry dough too.  I'll get into that another time.

 

Once the noodles are cooked and drained you can layer them into the ramekins.  Lay them across one another in an X. 

You may want to let the noodles cool a bit before attempting this. They are hot!

Add 1/4 of the creamy corn mixture to the ramekin.

 

Next add about 2 tablespoons of shredded provolone.  (I didn't have shredded and couldn't find a block to shred it, so I bought slices and cut them up.)

Fold over one of the layers and push down a little to allow space for the next filling.

Repeat the 1/4 cup of corn mixture and 2 tablespoons of provolone.

Fold over the last two lasagna ends and top with leftover corn mixture, provolone and pecorino romano (I ran out so topped them with parmesan which I always have a block of in the fridge).

Place them on a baking sheet and cook for 25-30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and run knife around the edge of the ramekins to loosen the lasagnas.

I let them sit a few minutes before unmolding them so that they stayed nice and hot until we were ready to eat.

I served them out of the ramekins with homemade garlic bread.

I had leftover bread from making paninis for lunch, so I cut the rest of the bread lengthwise.  I spread room temperature butter, fresh garlic, season-all salt, oregano and olive oil on top.  I placed it in the oven after I removed the ramekins.  Was a perfect addition to the lasagnas.

The recipe can be found at   http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/mini-lasagnas-with-sweet-corn-and-mascarpone-recipe/index.html courtesy of Food Network's Giada De Laurentiis.