Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Lasagne many ways

In my house, we have a vegetarian, two picky eaters, and one gluten-free person. So, we have some food challenges. On top of that, I try to do the healthy/organic/local thing to the best of my ability. I fall short all the time, but I do make an effort. One recent successful effort was this homemade lasagne. It is highly adaptable. I made it three different ways--as I described them at home: Glutinous and Meaty, Glutinous but Vegetarian, and Gluten-Free.

What I love about this lasagne is that you don't bother with cooking the noodles before you assemble it. The noodles cook right in the sauce (which is why the sauce needs to be so thin before you cook it). Some folks say I'm crazy, but I've been doing it this way since college and I love it.

Even with making three versions and fresh sauce, the hands-on time was one hour. Then it took an hour to cook. How do I know that? I made it while watching a Star Trek rerun, and it baked while I was at my daughter's band concert.

Ingredients:
1 lb Hot Italian Turkey Sausage. I used Shady Brook Farms.
1 onion, diced.
1 red pepper, diced.
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes. I used Muir Glen organic fire-roasted.
1 8-oz container ricotta cheese.
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg.
6 large leaves kale. I had the flat-leaf kind, but any type would work. Remove the center stems and chop the leaves. If you have vegetable-averse eaters, chop them very fine or run them through the food processor.
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves.
2 tbsp fresh oregano leaves.
salt and pepper to taste.
Uncooked lasagne noodles (regular or gluten free. If you can't find GF lasagne noodles, you can actually use GF penne, which is more readily available. But then you have to call the dish "baked ziti.")

The process:
1. Remove the casings from the turkey sausage and brown over medium heat, breaking up the meat with the spatula or wooden spoon. When all the sausage is cooked through, turn it out onto a plate lined with paper towels to let the excess fat drain off.

2. If you have no vegetarians in your house, cook the diced onions and peppers in the pan previously occupied by the turkey sausage. (Vegetarian homes: use a clean pan). Cook until the onions turn translucent.
Add the chopped kale, cook just until the kale begins to wilt, about 2 minutes.
Add the can of crushed tomatoes. Refill that can with tap water and add that to the sauce. It will be thin. That is okay right now. Stir everything together. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer over low-medium heat.

3. In a separate bowl, mix together the egg, ricotta and 1 cup of the mozzarella.

4. Pull out your casserole dishes and set them on the counter. For my three-version lasagne, I used two loaf pans (my daughter and I each get our own) and a two-quart Pyrex pan. If you are only making one version, you can use a large lasagne pan.

5. Finely chop the basil and oregano leaves and add them to your sauce. Add the salt and pepper, stir everything together and turn off the heat on the stove.

6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

7. Assemble the lasagnes:

  • Using a soup ladle for the sauce, spread a layer of sauce over the bottom of each pan.
  • Layer uncooked lasagne noodles (or whatever GF pasta you could find) over the sauce.
  • Spread a thin layer of the cheese mixture on top of the noodles.
  • Spread a layer of turkey sausage on the NON-vegetarian dishes.
  • Repeat, sauce/pasta/cheese/sausage.
  • This process usually makes two full layers, and then I run out of cheese. At that point, coat the lasagnes with any remaining sauce. 
  • Top each lasagne with a share of the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella.
  • Cover with tin foil and bake in the 350-degree oven for 45 minutes, then remove the tin foil and continue cooking until the cheese gets brown and bubbly, about another 15 minutes.
8. Remove the lasagne and allow it to cool for a few minutes while you assemble your salad and have your kids set the table. Ta-da!