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In this article:
Vegetable
Lasagna with Fontina Cheese & Creamy Parmesan Sauce
Steam sautéed veggies
Sautéed veggies
Broiled veggies
Online Extra: Lasagna with Creamy Ricotta & Get-Rich-Quick Tomato Sauce
Luscious
Vegetable Lasagna
Here's the only recipe you may ever need, with a gardenful
of variations.
Vegetable
lasagna is a real crowd pleaser when I entertain. But the
problem with some recipes is that the vegetables end up tasting
bland and overcooked, the noodles leathery, the lasagna too
dry or oozy rich. Here's what I've done to make this dish
the best it can be.
Use oven-ready (no-boil) noodles. After performing 14 tests,
I recommend Ronzoni. Besides being convenient, no-boil lasagna
noodles are thin -- 28 to a pound vs. 18 for regular varieties.
Thinner noodles mean more layers, resulting in a better-looking,
more flavorful dish.
Soak oven-ready noodles in hot salt water. These noodles need
moisture to soften (and thus rob water from the dish during
baking). Presoaking ensures a moist, seasoned lasagna.
Make quick, highly seasoned sauces. Without meat to add richness,
vegetable lasagnas can be bland. Boost the flavor by adding
garlic cloves to the milk, using canned broth for part of
the milk and adding Parmesan cheese.
Season and quickly cook the vegetables before assembly. Bland
vegetables will not be magically transformed during baking.
Cover the lasagna with foil and bake it on the oven's upper-middle
rack at a high temperature. The quicker the lasagna heats
through, the less chance of overcooked vegetables. Then remove
the foil and brown under the broiler -- it looks and tastes
better that way.
Let it rest 10 to 15 minutes. A warm lasagna slices better
than a hot one.
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Vegetable
Lasagna with Fontina Cheese & Creamy Parmesan Sauce
Make this lasagna with the vegetables you like and have on
hand. Combinations I've tried and liked: asparagus and mushrooms;
zucchini and spinach; broccoli and carrot; eggplant and bell
pepper.
Prep time: 50 minutes
Cooking
time:
40-42 minutes
4 cups cooked vegetables (choose two vegetable options on
opposite page)
4 1/2 Tbs. butter
1 medium-large onion, chopped
1 1/2 Tbs. plus 1/4 tsp. salt
15 oven-ready lasagna noodles
2 1/2 cups milk
1 cup canned chicken broth
6 garlic cloves, smashed with the side of a knife
5 Tbs. flour
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 1/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 pound fontina (or provolone) cheese, grated (2 1/2 cups)
Heat 2 Tbs. butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet.
Add onion; cook until soft and golden brown, about 5 minutes.
Set aside.
Mix 1 1/2 Tbs. salt and 2 quarts very hot tap water in a 13-by-9-inch
lasagna pan. Add noodles and soak until soft and pliable,
10 minutes. Drain and stack loosely. (Noodles tend to stick
together as they dry, but pull apart easily.)
Make Creamy Parmesan Sauce: Microwave milk, broth and garlic
in a 1 quart microwave-safe container on high power until
steaming hot, about 8 minutes. (Or slowly heat in a medium
saucepan over medium-low heat.) Fish out garlic; discard.
Melt 2 1/2 Tbs. butter over medium heat in a large saucepan;
when foaming subsides, whisk in flour and continue to cook,
whisking constantly, until well blended. Pour in milk mixture
all at once and whisk vigorously until sauce is smooth and
starts to bubble and thicken. Stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan, 1/4
tsp. salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat; place plastic
wrap directly on the sauce's surface.
Adjust rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425
degrees. Smear 1/4 cup of the sauce over bottom of baking
dish. Assemble the next 4 layers in the following order: 3
noodles, 2/3 cup sauce, 1/4 of the onions, 1/2 of one of the
cooked vegetables (alternating each layer), 1/2 cup fontina
and 2 Tbs. Parmesan. Assemble final layer with remaining noodles,
sauce and cheeses.
Seal with foil and bake until bubbly, about 35 minutes. Remove
foil, then broil until cheese is spotty brown, 5-7 minutes
longer. Let stand 10-15 minutes before serving.
Serves: 12.
Per serving: 296 calories, 25g carbohydrates, 15g protein,
15g fat (9g saturated), 2g fiber, 624mg sodium.
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Steam-Sautéed
Veggies
1 pound of one of the following: thin asparagus cut into 1-inch
pieces, OR cauliflower, cut into medium florets, OR broccoli,
cut into florets, stalks peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick
coins, OR carrots, peeled and sliced into
1/4-inch-thick coins, OR spinach, rinsed and tough stems removed
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 tsps. butter
Scant 1/2 tsp. salt
If only thick asparagus are available, halve them lengthwise
before cutting into pieces. To perk up cauliflower, add 1/4
tsp. dried basil to the pan.
Place selected vegetable, 1/3 cup water (leave out water if
cooking spinach), garlic, butter and salt in a large deep
skillet or Dutch oven.
Set pan lid ajar and cook over high heat until steam starts
to vent. Cover pan and steam until vegetables are brightly
colored and just tender, 3-4 minutes. Remove lid and continue
to cook until water evaporates. Turn vegetables onto a plate;
set aside. So that broccoli and cauliflower lie flat, cut
the florets into thick slices before assembling the lasagna.
Yields about 2 cups.
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Sautéed Veggies
1 Tb. olive oil
1 pound domestic white or cremini (brown) mushrooms, rinsed
and sliced, OR yellow or red peppers, seeded and cut into
1/4-inch strips
Salt, to taste
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When oil
starts to shimmer, add vegetables and a sprinkling of salt;
cook, stirring often, until soft and liquid evaporates, 5-7
minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30
seconds.
Turn onto a plate and set aside.
Yields about 2 cups.
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Broiled
Veggies
1 pound eggplant, OR zucchini, OR yellow squash, trimmed and
sliced into 1/3-inch-thick rounds
1 to 2 Tbs. olive oil
Salt
2 minced garlic cloves
1/4 tsp. dried basil
Adjust oven rack to highest position and preheat broiler.
Lightly brush both sides of vegetables with oil and sprinkle
with salt. Broil, turning once until spotty brown on each
side, 7-10 minutes. Toss with garlic and basil, and set aside.
Yields about 2 cups.
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Vegetable
Lasagna with Creamy Ricotta & Get-Rich-Quick Tomato Sauce
I prefer a smooth, creamy ricotta compared with the more grainy
variety. Short of buying and tasting all the ricotta brands,
it's impossible to know what you're getting until you open
the carton. A grainy-textured ricotta, however, can be quickly
made smooth in a food processor.
Prep time: 60 minutes
Cooking time: 40-42 minutes
1 pound each of 2 vegetables (see options and cooking instructions
above, broiled or sautéed)
Get-Rich-Quick Tomato Sauce:
3 Tbs. butter
2 medium onions, halved and sliced thin
2 minced garlic cloves
1/4 tsp. dried basil
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
Salt, if necessary, and freshly ground black pepper
15 oven-ready lasagna noodles
Salt, as directed
1 pound grated mozzarella cheese (about 4 cups)
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Prepare
vegetables (see above) to yield about
4 cups; set aside.
For
the tomato sauce, heat butter over medium-high heat in a soup
kettle. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently until soft
and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and basil;
cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds longer. Stir in tomatoes,
rinsing out cans with about 1/4 cup water and adding it to
the pot. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and simmer
to blend flavors, 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt, if necessary,
and pepper to taste.
Meanwhile,
mix 1 1/2 Tbs. salt and 2 quarts of very hot tap water in
the13-by 9-inch pan for baking the lasagna. Add noodles and
soak until soft and pliable, 10 minutes. Drain and stack loosely
(Noodles tend to stick together as they dry, but pull apart
easily.)
Adjust
oven rack to upper middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees.
Smear 1/2 cup of the sauce over bottom of baking dish. Assemble
the next 4 layers in the following order: 3 noodles, 6 tablespoons
ricotta cheese spread over the noodles, a heaping 2/3 cup
sauce, 1/2 of one of the cooked vegetables (alternating each
layer), 3/4 cup mozzarella, and 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Assemble
final layer with remaining noodles, sauce and cheeses. Seal
lasagna with foil and bake until bubbly, about 35 minutes.
Remove foil, then broil until cheese is spotty brown, 5 to
7 minutes longer. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes, before cutting
and serving.
Serves 8 to 12
Nutrition per serving based on 12: 334 calories, 18g
protein, 27g carbohydrates, 17g fat (10g saturated) 3g fiber,
618mg sodium
Photo by BRIAN LEATART for USA WEEKEND
Contributing
Editor Pam Anderson is the author of "How to Cook Without
a Book" (Broadway, $25) and "The Perfect Recipe"
(Houghton Mifflin, $27).
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