Vegetarian Lasagna

Making lasagna is like planning a wedding. There are thousands of varying traditions and just as many ways to go about it. Some say location and food are most important, others say music and color scheme. In the end, you just need to decide what’s most important to you.

Some prefer their lasagna with lots of veggies, others like it with beef. I like lasagna to be really saucy and cheesy – stuffed with ricotta cheese, fresh mozzarella and basil.

After years of trying various recipes, and never getting the cheesy result that I wanted – always too noodley, too saucy, too vegetabley – I finally decided to set out on my own. Another thing (and then I promise to get off my lasagna recipe roasting soap box) is that every recipe I’ve ever tried calls for either too many or too few lasagna noodles. Too many and you then have to scramble to mix up more ricotta to make a second batch in whatever other baking pan you have lying around. Too few and you end up with a soupy lasagna.

My lasagna uses a count of twelve 12″ lasagna noodles (you’ll end up with a few in the cabinet later, but it’s a small price to pay for a good lasagna). This recipe also uses more ricotta cheese than most, as well as a good amount of Bechemel. The result is that rich, thick lasagna that you’d find in a good Italian-American restaurant. Great for winter when fresh veggies aren’t available, because the sauce can be made with either fresh or canned tomatoes.

Vegetarian Lasagna – serves 12

12 – 12″ lasagna noodles (this length is pretty standard)
3 cups tomato sauce (see recipe below)
3 cups Bechemel sauce (see recipe below)
1 – 32 oz tub of Ricotta Cheese (I prefer full fat over skim which can become chalky)
1/4 C fresh chopped basil
2 eggs
1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
1 lb fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
2 T olive oil

Start off by make the sauces (instructions below).

While the tomato sauce simmers and the Bechemel gradually thickens over a very low heat, cook the lasagna noodles about 2 minutes less than instructed and be sure to not allow the water to get to a rolling boil. This ensures that the pasta does not over cook and the decorative ruffles stays intact. Drain and rinse.

Beat eggs in a large bowl. Mix in the ricotta, Parmesan cheese, basil and parsley.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Begin the layers by spreading the bottom of a 13×9 inch lasagna pan with half of the Bechemel sauce. Arrange lasagna noodles at the bottom of the pan so that they overlap – 4 per layer. It’s okay if the noodles are a little short. Just center them and they will continue to grow as they cook and absorb more liquid.

Spread one half of the ricotta mixture over the lasagna noodles. Top with half of the tomato sauce. Cover with another layer of lasagna noodles.

Arrange half of the mozzarella slices over the noodles. Cover with the rest of the Bechemel and then ricotta mixture. Top with the last four lasagna noodles.

Finally, cover the top with the rest of the tomato sauce and artfully arrange the rest of the mozzarella slices. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Bake for 45 minutes. Allow to rest 10 minutes before serving.

Bechemel Sauce – makes about  2 1/2 cups

1/4 cup salted butter (1/2 stick)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When it bubbles, add flour. Stir over medium heat to form a golden paste. Lower heat and gradually add milk 1/2 cup at a time, whisking each addition until smooth. Keep on very low heat, as you prepare the other lasagna ingredients, whisking occasionally to keep from separating or turning lumpy. Raise heat and whisk to thicken just before assembling the lasagna.

Yankee Cook’s Quick Tomato Sauce – makes about 4 cups

1 T olive oil
1/4 C chopped yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, pressed or smashed and finely diced
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
2 T tomato paste
1/3 C vegetable or chicken stock
1 t sugar

Heat olive oil in a 2 quart saucepan over a medium flame. Add onions and cook until transparent, but not browned. Add garlic and carrots and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, stock until well combined.  Stir in tomatoes. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer 10 minutes.

Ingredient origins – Lasagna Noodles – Italy, Canned organic tomatoes – California; Olive oil – Italy, Organic onion – unknown; Garlic – Chile; Carrot – unknown; Tomato paste – unknown; Vegetable stock – my own; Sugar – Florida; Butter – Maine; Flour – Vermont; Milk – Vermont; Ricotta – Wisconsin; Basil – Massachusetts; Eggs – New Hampshire; Parmesan Cheese – Italy; Mozzarella – Vermont

French Onion Soup

French onion soup can be either really great or really not so great and it all depends on the quality of ingredients. Imagine how hollow it could be if the stock was made from a bullion cube, the bread was a slice of HFCS laden supermarket “French bread” and the whole thing was topped with a waxy, mass-produced domestic “Swiss” cheese (I’m going to sound like a total cheese snob here, but there are hundreds of different types of cheese that come from Switzerland. There is not just one “Swiss Cheese”. There. I said it.), rather than an authentic Gruyere? The soup would be thin and over-salted, the bread would turn to an algae-like substance and the cheese would form a tough skin when broiled, rather than melting and mingling.

Fortunately, it’s not prohibitively expensive or difficult to find quality ingredients for French Onion soup, and it makes a world of difference in the end result.

This recipe calls for homemade beef stock, a good baguette with a thick crisp crust and open crumb, and a good authentic Gruyere cheese. If you live in an area with good artisan cheese makers, you may be able to find an local equivalent to Gruyere, but be sure to test it out first to see if it works. Sometimes cheeses can become stringy when added to soup and that makes for a less appetizing appearance and texture.

To get a light essence of garlic into the soup, burnish the bowl and toast with a halved piece of garlic. This combined with dry white wine, good cheese and French bread makes this soup reminiscent of a good fondue.

French Onion Soup – Serves 2

3 yellow onions, quartered and sliced
2 T butter
1 dash of salt (or 3 grinds from salt grinder)
1 t brown sugar
1 T flour
1/2 C dry white wine
4 C beef stock
2 – 4 thick (1/2 – 1 inch) slices of French bread
1 clove of garlic, peeled and cut in half
4-6 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated

Melt butter in a large stockpot. Add onions and cook over medium-low heat until creamy and softened, about 10 minutes. Add brown sugar and continue cooking until golden brown, 20 more minutes on medium-low. Stir in flour, being sure to evenly coat the onions and cook 10 minutes, still on medium-low heat.

Increase heat to medium-high and add wine. Stir to blend the wine with the onion and flour paste, scraping up the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Stir in beef stock and allow to simmer for 30 minutes. Occasionally skim any foam from the top and stir.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Toast the pieces of bread – depending on the thickness of the baguette, you may need two toasts per bowl. Rub the toasts and oven-proof soup crocks with raw garlic.

Divide the finished soup into two crocks, float toast on top and cover with grated Gruyere. Place soup crocks in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until cheese reaches desired level of meltiness. This could range from just bubbling to browned.

Spanakopita

One of my favorite things to do for dinner is to make a few types of appetizers. It’s especially fun if you plan on having friends over to watch a movie or sporting event (a-hem) on television. My favorite appetizers tend to be flaky, savory treats. Dips and things are great, but there’s something decadent about having something that tastes like it came from a pastry shop.

These fit the bill nicely. Only a few ingredients will bring you a crisp, piquant treat. Briny feta brings out the tang of the steamed spinach and the buttery filo forms a smart wrapper.

Spanakopita - makes 28 pieces

1 stick of butter, melted
14 sheets of filo dough 14 x 18 inches
4 oz feta cheese, cut into small, 1/2 inch cubes and crumbled slightly
1/2 lb baby spinach

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Steam the spinach however you’d like. Transfer to a colander and press to remove excess liquid. Transfer to a cutting board and loosely chop. Allow to cool slightly before combining with the the feta.

Line a cutting board or work surface with plastic wrap. Place the 14 sheets of filo on top and cover with another sheet of plastic wrap. This device will be used to keep the filo from drying out as you work.

Place a piece of filo dough onto another cutting board or work surface and lightly paint it with butter using a pastry brush. Place another piece of filo on top of that one, pressing it slightly to create a little seal and paint that one with butter too.

Using a pizza wheel, cut the filo into 4 lengthwise strips (to make them even, I like to cut a line down the center and then cut lines down the two halves, but that’s just me. It’s your kitchen).  Place a heaping teaspoon of the spinach mixture in a corner of each strip closest to you.

Fold the corner up into a triangle, then up again and so on, just as you would fold a flag back in your summer camp flag ceremony days. Just don’t laugh during the ceremony because the director can’t stand it.

Gather the little guys onto a baking sheet or two and bake for 20 minutes or so until golden brown.

Ingredient Origins: Butter – Maine; Organic filo dough – New Jersey; Organic feta – Wisconsin; Organic spinach – Maine

Cheese Stuffed Tomatoes

I was visiting with a friend in New York a few years ago when the subject of dinner came up. We discussed going to a nearby fondue restaurant and, as much as I love cheese, I pointed out that maybe we should opt for something a little healthier with vegetables and protein, etc. My friend, who is a dietitian replied, “Cheese is a protein.”

Case closed. That is why it’s great to be friends with a dietitian. It’s like the lady said, cheese is protein. Not the leanest, admittedly, but a protein nonetheless.

Stuffed tomatoes are great for side dish or a light meal. This dish is like a lighter, fresher tasting version of pizza. Use any type of cheddar. In this case I used Grafton Village Cheese Company’s Sage Cheddar, which is why you see little green specs on the cheese in the pictures.

Cheese Stuffed Tomatoes - serves 2 – 4

1/2 C cooked white long grain rice
1 egg
1/2 C  cubed cheddar cheese
4 thin 1″x1″ slices of cheddar cheese
4 medium tomatoes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Beat egg and add to rice. Mix in cubed cheddar.

To hollow out the tomatoes – cut off the top. Cut out the stem out of the top piece and discard, reserving the rest. Using a knife, free the inside structure from the tomato’s walls. Scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Remove any seed membranes and white parts and discard. Dice the remaining internal structure along with the tops. Scoop any remaining seeds from the tomato shells.

Add diced tomato bits to the rice mixture. Scoop the rice mixture into the tomatoes. It’s ok if it there is enough to create a small mound.

Carefully place on a rack on a bakling sheet. Bake 25 minutes. Place cheese slices on top and bake an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and allowto rest 5 minutes before serving.

Ingredient origins: Rice – California; Egg – New Hampshire; Cheddar – Vermont; Tomatoes – Maine

Broccoli Feta pie

There’s something wonderful about the way broccoli and feta go together. Feta’s brininess brings out a sweetness in the broccoli that otherwise might go undetected, and the textures work well together too.

This dish is really easy to make, but seems decadent and complicated because of the filo. It’s also a good dish to make if you’ve opened a package of filo dough and have a few sheets left over…

Broccoli Feta Pie – serves 2 – 4

6 sheets of filo dough
1/3 C olive oil
2 1/2 C chopped broccoli, steamed
4 oz feta cheese, diced
10 kalmata olives

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Brush a medium sized baking dish with olive oil. Place a sheet of filo dough on the dish and brush with olive oil. Repeat with three more sheets, arranging to fit the baking dish, covering the sides, folding where necessary and overlapping to create a base consisting of at least three layers of filo in any given spot.

Crumple and chop the two additional sheets of filo. Toss with remaining olive oil.

Arrange broccoli in the dish, then feta and olives.  Top with the crumpled filo dough.

Bake 45 minutes until the top is golden brown. Serve hot.

Ingredient origins: Filo dough – ; Olive oil – Italy; Organic broccoli – California; Feta cheese – Maine; Kalamata olives –