The magic of genuinely rich layered dishes comes from what happens during cooking rather than simply what goes into them. Each layer develops its own character while simultaneously absorbing and contributing flavor to everything surrounding it. 

A properly made baked lasagna demonstrates this principle at its most satisfying — the sauce penetrating every pasta layer during cooking, the cheese melting into something unified rather than simply sitting on top, the whole dish developing a cohesion and depth during oven time that no quickly assembled alternative achieves regardless of ingredient quality.