Cheese Board 101: How to Build the Perfect Plate

Many of us are obsessives when it comes to cheese, but the thought of composing a balanced cheese plate is daunting. What’s the best surface for serving cheese? What is the difference between all those little knives? How many cheeses should I choose? V…

Many of us are obsessives when it comes to cheese, but the thought of composing a balanced cheese plate is daunting. What's the best surface for serving cheese? What is the difference between all those little knives? How many cheeses should I choose? Variety is important, but at what point will my taste buds get overwhelmed? Can I mix and match different regional varieties? Which cheeses pair well with the wine I’m serving?

To calm our cheese board insecurities, we turned to Christopher Hanawalt, former cheesemonger of Brooklyn’s famed Bedford Cheese Shop. He shared invaluable insights on how to pick the perfect selection of cheeses, reassuring us that cheese board curation is far from a rigid art. The most successful selections stem from a set of basic guidelines, but ultimately rely on a heavy dose of personal creativity.

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Our Food Stylist’s Tips for the Best Thanksgiving Cheese Board

We’ve all seen them on social media: packed platters and wooden boards filled with perfectly layered wedges of cheese, neat piles of fruit and nuts, and slices of salami that have—somehow—been artfully molded into the shape of a rose. Known interchange…

We’ve all seen them on social media: packed platters and wooden boards filled with perfectly layered wedges of cheese, neat piles of fruit and nuts, and slices of salami that have—somehow—been artfully molded into the shape of a rose. Known interchangeably—at least online—as grazing, charcuterie, and cheese boards, these creations seem to have become the gold standard for hosting. But they’re also a lot of work and, from a practical perspective, maybe not the best option when you have several hungry guests coming over on the busiest cooking day of the year.

“If you really have time to do all that on Thanksgiving, like kudos,” said Anna Billingskog, Food52’s senior food stylist. “But I think it’s…unrealistic.”

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Baked Mac and Cheese

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Roasted Cauliflower Enchiladas

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My Cauliflower Chickpea Tacos are one of my all-time favorite meals. My boys also love them and they are a blog favorite. Everyone that tries them becomes a fan, they are that good! I decided to turn my favorite tacos into enchiladas and I am glad I did. I love enchiladas, especially twists on the…

Beef Taquitos

We love making taquitos for an easy weeknight meal or for easy entertaining. They are a favorite for game days! We love Chicken Taquitos, Black Bean Cheese Taquitos, and these Beef Taquitos. If you like our ground beef tacos, I have a feeling you will …

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Enchilada Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are one of my all-time favorite foods. I love sweet potato fries, sweet potato soup, sweet potato salads, grilled sweet potatoes, sweet potato hash, and more! One of my favorite meals are these Stuffed Sweet Potatoes. They are super sati…

Sweet potatoes are one of my all-time favorite foods. I love sweet potato fries, sweet potato soup, sweet potato salads, grilled sweet potatoes, sweet potato hash, and more! One of my favorite meals are these Stuffed Sweet Potatoes. They are super satisfying and super delicious. A hearty vegetarian meal that even meat lovers and kids…

Quattro Formaggi Pizza

This Quattro Formaggi pizza is irresistible! It’s topped with a tangy red sauce and the classic Italian combination of four…

A Couple Cooks – Recipes worth repeating.

This Quattro Formaggi pizza is irresistible! It’s topped with a tangy red sauce and the classic Italian combination of four cheeses.

Quattro formaggi pizza

Here’s a pie that’s one of the Italian greats: Quattro Formaggi! This classic Italian combination of four cheese is popular for a reason: combine each flavor and texture and it makes one completely irresistible slice! There’s the melty mozzarella, sharp and salty Parmesan and Pecorino cheese, and the subtle funk of gorgonzola. Combine it all on pillowy pizza crust with zingy pizza sauce and it’s a match made in pizza heaven.

What is quattro formaggi?

Quattro formaggi means four cheese in Italian, and refers to a popular style of pizza featuring a combination of four cheeses, with or without red sauce. The types of cheeses vary based on the pizzeria, but the most common combination is mozzarella, gorgonzola, Parmesan and fontina cheese. Other variations include swapping out the Parmesan and fontina with pecorino romano, asiago, ricotta, taleggio, robiola, or other Italian cheeses.

For this spin on quattro formaggi pizza, we used Pecorino Romano in place of the fontina cheese to bring a salty intensity to this pie. Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this pie:

Quattro formaggi

Pizza dough options

How to make a Quattro Formaggi pizza that tastes like you’re in Italy? Make homemade pizza dough! We’ve honed our dough recipes to perfection over a decade of recipe testing. Each one of the recipes below works perfectly in a standard oven or pizza oven to make next-level artisan pizza:

  • Best Pizza Dough: The standard! This is our best oven pizza dough and works best on a pizza stone.
  • Thin Crust Pizza Dough: This variation is easy and you can roll it out instead of stretching it.
  • Pizza Oven Dough: Got a pizza oven? This is the dough recipe for you.
  • Best-Ever Sheet Pan Pizza: This simple recipe makes the equivalent of two pizzas in a sheet pan: and you don’t need any special tools!
Pizza sauce

The best sauce for quattro formaggi (or go without)

Quattro formaggi pizza can be served with a red tomato-based pizza sauce or without sauce, called Pizza Bianca (white pizza). They both taste great, but we like bit of red sauce to really make this pie shine. Here are a few notes:

  • For a red pizza, spread a bit of tomato sauce for a bold, saucy pie. Try this best homemade pizza sauce recipe, which you can whip up in just 5 minutes, no cooking required.
  • For a white pizza, make sure to brush the dough with olive oil before layering it with cheese. It’s a little more cheese forward and dryer. To add a little more moisture, you could consider spreading a ricotta as a base like in this Pizza Bianca.
Quattro formaggi pizza

Pizza making tools

If you’re making our best pizza dough or thin crust pizza, you’ll need a pizza stone and peel for this recipe. If you’re using a pizza oven, it typically comes with its own pizza peel that can withstand the high temperatures. If you don’t have these tools, consider making the sheet pan pizza dough or a pan pizza! Here are some notes on these tools:

  • Pizza stone: Baking on a pizza stones makes the crust crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. Here’s the pizza stone we recommend.
  • Pizza peel: This paddle slides the pie onto the hot stone in the oven. We recommend this standard pizza peel or this conveyor pizza peel, which makes transferring to the oven a breeze.
  • Pizza oven (optional): An outdoor pizza oven makes next level pizza! We have experience with both the Ooni pizza oven and the ROCCBOX (the ROCCBOX is our preference). We used a pizza oven to get the charred crust you see in the photos.

Let us know if you try this Quattro formaggi pizza and what you think in the comments below!

More pizza recipes

There are infinite ways to top a pizza! Here are a few of our favorite pizza recipes:

This quattro formaggi pizza recipe is…

Vegetarian.

Print
Quattro formaggi pizza

Quattro Formaggi Pizza


  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 1 hour
  • Cook Time: 7 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 7 minutes
  • Yield: 1 medium pizza

Description

This Quattro Formaggi pizza is irresistible! It’s topped with a tangy red sauce and the classic Italian combination of four cheeses.


Ingredients

  • 1 recipe Best Pizza Dough 
  • ½ cup Homemade Pizza Sauce
  • ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese (whole milk if possible)
  • 1 ½ tablespoons grated Pecorino Romano cheese
  • 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
  • 3 tablespoons gorgonzola crumbles

Instructions

  1. Make the pizza dough: Follow the Best Pizza DoughThin Crust Pizza Dough or Pizza Oven Dough recipes to prepare the dough. (This takes about 15 minutes to make and 45 minutes to rest.)
  2. Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500°F. OR preheat your pizza oven (here’s the pizza oven we use).
  3. Make the pizza sauce: Make the Homemade Pizza Sauce. (You’ll use about ½ cup for the pizza; reserve the remaining sauce and refrigerate for up to 1 week.)
  4. Bake the pizza: When the oven is ready, dust a pizza peel with cornmeal or semolina flour. (If you don’t have a pizza peel, you can use a rimless baking sheet or the back of a rimmed baking sheet. But a pizza peel is well worth the investment!) Stretch the dough into a circle; see How to Stretch Pizza Dough for instructions. Then gently place the dough onto the pizza peel.
  5. Spread a thin layer of the pizza sauce over the dough. Add the mozzarella cheese, then sprinkle with the Pecorino Romano, Parmesan and gorgonzola cheese. 
  6. Use the pizza peel to carefully transfer the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone. Bake the pizza until the cheese and crust are nicely browned, about 5 to 7 minutes in the oven (or 1 to 2 minutes in a pizza oven).
  7. Allow the pizza to cool for a minute or two before slicing into pieces. Serve immediately.

Notes

*Or, try our Thin Crust Dough or Pizza Oven Dough!

  • Category: Pizza
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: Pizza
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Keywords: Quattro Formaggi, quattro formaggio, Quattro Formaggi pizza

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

Eggplant Lasagna

This eggplant lasagna recipe layers eggplant, homemade marinara, and a flavorful three-cheese filling! It’s a hearty dinner that pleases everyone.…

A Couple Cooks – Recipes worth repeating.

This eggplant lasagna recipe layers eggplant, homemade marinara, and a flavorful three-cheese filling! It’s a hearty dinner that pleases everyone.

Eggplant Lasagna

Got eggplant and want to turn it into a meal? Try this Eggplant Lasagna, a tasty dinner recipe that swaps out the traditional noodles for roasted eggplant! This gooey pan holds layers of eggplant, homemade marinara, and a flavorful three-cheese filling. Lemon zest and nutmeg takes it to restaurant-style flavor. It’s a hearty gluten-free and meatless dinner idea that everyone will love! This one’s now in our regular rotation to stay.

Ingredients for eggplant lasagna

Eggplant lasagna is a gluten-free version of lasagna that swaps the noodles for roasted lasagna. It’s similar to a classic Eggplant Parmesan, but skips the breading breading on the eggplant. You’ll slice the eggplant into planks, then use that for layering with the marinara and three-cheese filling. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

  • Eggplant
  • Olive oil
  • Garlic
  • Butter
  • Crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce
  • Fresh thyme
  • Dried basil, dried tarragon, ground nutmeg, and kosher salt
  • Cornstarch
  • Lemon zest
  • Ricotta, Parmesan and mozzarella cheese
Eggplant Lasagna

The tricks to eggplant lasagna

The biggest issue with lasagna recipes without noodles like eggplant lasagna is that eggplant is 90% water. Raw eggplant would make the dish into a watery mess! So there are a few tricks to making eggplant lasagna with the perfect consistency:

  • Roast the eggplant. This cooks out a significant amount of the water, making for the perfect tender consistency. You’ll roast at 425°F for about 25 minutes total.
  • Thicken the tomato sauce with cornstarch. This is another preventative measure! Adding a little cornstarch makes an even thicker tomato sauce with less water.
  • Let the lasagna cool for 15 minutes to set. Right out of the oven, there may be a little moisture. Let the lasagna sit and cool, which lets it absorb any remaining moisture.
Eggplant Lasagna Recipe

A few flavor secrets

This eggplant lasagna tastes restaurant-quality with just a few special items to make the ingredients sing! We recommend making the recipe with each of these ingredients:

  • Ricotta, Parmesan, and mozzarella cheese: Using three types of cheese brings a nuance in flavor. Use whole milk mozzarella if you can find it: it melts better than part-skim cheese.
  • Homemade tarragon tomato sauce: You could use store-bought marinara sauce in a pinch, but this tomato sauce is incredible! Substitute oregano if you don’t have dried tarragon.
  • Lemon zest and fresh thyme: These bring a zing and freshness that’s absolutely essential to the flavors.

Make ahead & leftover storage for eggplant lasagna

This eggplant lasagna recipe takes about 45 minutes to prepare, 30 minutes to bake, and 15 minutes to rest. So, it’s not a recipe for a quick weeknight meal! However, there are a few thing you can do to prep this recipe in advance.

  • Roast the eggplant in advance. One of the biggest time savers is roasting the noodles ahead of time. Roast and then refrigerate until the time of baking. They will accumulate moisture in the fridge, so pat them dry before assembling.
  • Make the tomato sauce in advance. It’s easy to let the tomato sauce simmer while you preheat the oven. But you can make it in advance too! Just refrigerate until serving: the flavor gets better over time.
  • Or, make the entire pan in advance! Leftovers store well; they can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and reheated in a 375°F oven.
Eggplant Lasagna Recipe

More eggplant recipes

This eggplant lasagna is one of our favorite new ways to use eggplant! Here are a few other eggplant recipes to try:

This eggplant lasagna recipe is…

Vegetarian and gluten-free.

Print
Eggplant Lasagna

Eggplant Lasagna


  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 45 minutes
  • Rest time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Yield: 9 pieces

Description

This eggplant lasagna recipe layers eggplant, homemade marinara, and a flavorful three-cheese filling! It’s a hearty dinner that pleases everyone.


Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 large garlic cloves
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes, fire roasted if possible
  • 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce, fire roasted if possible
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried tarragon (or oregano)
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch (or arrowroot starch)
  • 1 3/4 pounds eggplant (2 medium)
  • 2 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
  • Zest of 1/2 lemon
  • 16 ounces (2 cups) ricotta cheese
  • ¾ cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
  • 2 cups (7 ounces) shredded whole milk mozzarella cheese, divided
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • Fresh ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat: Preheat the oven to 425°F.
  2. Roast the eggplant: Slice the eggplant into 1/2-inch slices (at least 12 planks; don’t worry if they vary in size). Place the slices on two parchment-lined baking sheets and brush each side with them with olive oil. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided across the 2 trays. Roast for 10 minutes, then flip and bake 10 to 15 minutes more, until tender and golden brown.
  3. Prepare the sauce: Mince the garlic. Add the butter to a medium saucepan over medium heat: once melted, add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Turn down the heat and carefully add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, basil, tarragon, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and several grinds of black pepper. Remove ¼ cup of the sauce and stir it with the cornstarch, then add it back to the pan (this helps to thicken the sauce). Simmer while making the remainder of the recipe, at least 15 minutes. When ready to use, remove the pan from the heat.
  4. Meanwhile, prepare the cheese filling: Destem the thyme, then roughly chop the leaves. Add 2 tablespoons thyme to a medium bowl and reserve about ½ tablespoon for topping the lasagna. To the bowl, add the lemon zest, ricotta cheese, ½ cup Parmesan cheese, 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, nutmeg, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and several grinds of black pepper. Stir to combine.
  5. Turn down the oven: Turn down the heat to 375°F.
  6. Assemble the lasagna: In a 9” x 9” baking dish or 7 x 11 baking dish (or similar volume dish), spread a ½ cup tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan. Then top with 1 layer of the eggplant, half of the cheese mixture (in dollops) and about ½ cup of the tomato sauce, using a spatula to spread the sauce evenly over the cheese. Repeat again, topping with 1 layer of eggplant, the remaining cheese mixture, and ½ cup of the remaining tomato sauce. Finally, top with a final layer of eggplant, then another ½ cup tomato sauce. Sprinkle the entire top with the remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, and ½ tablespoon fresh thyme.
  7. Bake the lasagna: Bake the lasagna for 30 minutes, uncovered. Let stand for at least 15 minutes before serving (this allows the lasagna to set; you can let it sit even longer if desired). Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and reheated in a 375°F oven.
  • Category: Main dish
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: Italian inspired
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Keywords: Eggplant lasagna, Eggplant lasagna recipe, recipe for eggplant lasagna

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

Burrito Bowl

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Breakfast Sandwich

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