The Genius Way Ree Drummond Combines Pizza And Lasagna For One Flavorful Dish

Years ago, my Great-Aunt Rosie used to make lasagna with slices of pepperoni and mini meatballs interspersed between the layers. I grew up thinking that was how lasagna was done, and was disappointed in later years to find out that most lasagnas, no matter how many layers they include, just stop at cheese and sauce. Let's not even talk about those monstrosities made with cottage cheese since that would set Aunt Rosie rolling for sure. Yes, vegetable lasagna is a thing, but I'm not really a fan. I am, however, quite amused by the fact that Ree Drummond, also known as TV's Pioneer Woman, has joined other food bloggers in rediscovering the trick of adding pepperoni to lasagna. The 21st-century version, however, has been re-branded as "pizza lasagna."

Some pizza lasagna recipes are basically standard lasagna plus pepperoni. Drummond, however, takes it a step further. While she doesn't add meatballs, her recipe is meant to mimic a supreme-style pizza by calling for ground beef, Italian sausage, bell peppers, black olives, mushrooms, and onions in addition to pepperoni. Another thing that sets her recipe apart from some others is that she doesn't layer these extra ingredients on top of the noodles and cheese, but uses them to flavor the sauce.

Should you wish to follow suit and make your own pizzagna (I'm surprised no one's started calling it this yet), you can take either approach. Either add your own preferred pizza toppings (bacon, chicken, ham, even pineapple if you want) as an extra layer, or do as Drummond does, and stir them into your lasagna sauce.

If pizza lasagna can be a thing, is the opposite also true? Sure, lasagna pizza exists, even though it has yet to be taken up by any celebrity chefs of Ree Drummond's stature. (If she comes out with such a recipe next week, though, you'll know who to thank.) It's not as complicated as you might think, either, because unlike lasagna, it doesn't involve layers. Instead, lasagna pizza is essentially pizza with one simple addition.

Lasagna, at its most basic, involves some of the same ingredients as pizza does. You've got your starch (noodles in one case, crust in another), your tomato sauce, and your mozzarella cheese. The one thing that transforms an ordinary cheese pizza into a lasagna pizza, however, is ricotta cheese — yes, ricotta, not béchamel. Ricotta is the preferred lasagna filling in southern Italy, and, like Aunt Rosie, pizza originated in that region, too.

Should you wish to make your own pizza lasagna, all you need to do is mix ricotta cheese with an egg and some seasonings (as you would for lasagna), then spread this layer either right on top of the dough or dollop it atop the tomato sauce before baking the pizza. You can add whatever toppings you like, although to better appreciate the ricotta layer, it might be best to keep things minimal with no more than one or two add-ons.