L for Lasagne

If you have read Garfield you know about Garfield’s love for Lasagna!  So my first intro this dish was a cartoon strip. Then my belief was always that it’s a dish made with meats and the recipes on the Lasagna pasta box confirmed my belief. So making of a Lasagna was like okay… let’s see!

There are times I cannot give up my age old beliefs and this happened to be one of them. Then I read about a vegetarian lasagne in a forum. On my request the member shared the recipe too! I was pleased and made the recipe to the “T”!

My daughters were so thrilled Initially, but like a river where the water flows serenely but once there is a lot of input it overruns the banks,   once the food in the tummy reached the full levels complaints started was told that I used all wrong vegetables, my sauce was not as good and so on and so forth ….. Till I never made lasagna again!

But this time around for the Blogging Marathon with alphabets I was gently nudged, then pushed and prodded, cajoled towards Lasagna with “our choice of veggies.”

I used tomato sauce and white sauce both you could use white sauce only. Also I had soft boiled eggs which I used in the filling you may opt out of them.

So let’s get down to the long process of making lasagna.  The process is long but I must say the whole pasta tasted great.  I made the lasagna twice once I made tomato sauce out 8 tomatoes, white sauce out of ½ cups of flour. I got 2 lasagna; I had to ration out the white sauce.  for the second one should make out of ¾ cups next time if my lasagna quantity is same.  The mozzarella cheese used was about ½ kgs.

For the Tomato Sauce:

• ¼ cup oil
• ½ teaspoon hing/asafoetida
• 1 cup chopped basil
• 2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 6 cups tomato puree
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tblspn tomato ketchup(optional)

Method:

1. To make the tomato puree, wash and cut a small cross at the stalk of the tomato.
2. Drop the tomato in hot water for about 10-15 minutes. Then peel and discard the skin grind the rest of the tomato. Set aside.
3. Heat the oil add hing/asafoetida add the basil leaves and oregano fry for about ½ a minute.
4. Add the tomato puree, stir and bring to a boil.
5. Add the rest of the ingredients and reduce heat.
6. Simmer till the mixture thickens.

For the white sauce:

(Makes 2 tea cups)

• ¾  cups whole wheat flour
• ¾  tblspn butter
• 6  cups milk
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

• In a thick bottom kadhai/wok add the butter and the wheat flour. Mix well.
• Put the kadhai/wok on a low flame, stirring continuously; cook the floor till you get a nice aroma.
• Remove from fire and let it cool a bit.
• Add the milk gradually and mix well till there are no lumps.
• Return to heat and cook on low flame stirring continuously till the sauce thickens.
• Strain the sauce in a soup strainer to get rid of lumps, if any.
• Add salt and pepper and mix well.

One layer of filling:

• 2 teaspoon olive oil
• 200 grams of mushrooms
• 3 large onions chopped fine
• 6 cloves of garlic chopped fine
• 1 teaspoon oregano,
• ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning,
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper,
• dash of chilli powder
• salt to taste
• 6 soft boiled eggs (optional)

Method:

• Soak the mushrooms in a bowl of water for 10 minutes
• Drain and dry on a kitchen towel.
• Chop them into quarters and set aside.
• In a kadhai/wok heat the olive oil, add the garlic and stir. Do not let it turn brown.
• Immediately add the onions and cook till translucent.
• Add the mushrooms and stir.
• Add salt to taste.
• Cover and cook.
• Once the mushrooms are cooked add the oregano, Italian seasoning, pepper and the dash of chilli powder.
• Mix the sliced soft boiled eggs, stir well, check the seasoning and set aside.

Second layer of filling:

I decided to use potatoes as my second layer, for that you will need:

• 3 medium sized potatoes, sliced extremely fine (use the vegetable peeler if needed)
• Salt (adjust as per taste) , Italian seasoning, oregano (1 teaspoon each) and a dash of pepper

Method:

• Mix all the ingredients and set aside for 10 minutes.
• Transfer the potato to a skillet and cook them for 3- minutes.
• Set aside.

 Pasta:

• 15 pasta/lasagne sheets
• 10 cups of water
• 2 teaspoon oil
• Plenty of salt

Method:

• In a big vessel, boil about 10 cups of water.
• Add salt and the oil.
• Once the water boils add the pasta. (Here I will like to add that I boiled only 5 sheets at a time for that were the number that I needed to layer my containers).
• Cook well, as the Italians call it “Al’ dente”
• Drain and use immediately.
• I had my daughters layering the pasta while i attended to the boiling of the sheets and getting them out.

Assembly:

• Grate mozzarella cheese and set aside.
• As the sheets are cooking, in a baking dish, arrange a foils to overhang. I prefer to put it in a cross. Overhang should be sufficient to increase the height of your vessel. If needed use staple pins to hold steady. ( for both the times I was glad I did increase the height of the baking dish,
•  Grease the foil then spread a layer of white sauce.
• Arrange pasta/lasagne strips over the sauce.
• Spread the first filling, add the cheese (diet ko maro goli be generous).
• Arrange another layer of the pasta sheets, spread the tomato sauce and the white sauce.
• Spread a layer of potato slices over the pasta strips overlapping one another to form your second layer.
• Spread cheese over it.
• Spread the tomato sauce, and add a little white sauce over it.
• Put a layer of pasta strips over it. Tuck in the corners of the pasta.
• Spread the white sauce over the strips
• Add the mushrooms and another layer of cheese.
• Spread the tomato sauce over it.
• Lay another layer of pasta and tuck in the corners.
• Spread the last of the sauces. Sprinkle cheese liberally.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 50 mins.
• To check if the pasta is done do the knife test i.e. insert a knife or a skewer in the center. If it comes out clean your lasagne is done. If not done bake for 5 minutes again.
• Let it stand in the oven for 45 minutes with the door ajar.
• Before serving use the overhang to remove it from the baking dish.
• Cut and serve.

Notes:

• I find it easier to boil the sheets as needed. This helps as the sheets do not dry out by the time the layering is done.
• I have used mushrooms and eggs as the filling you can try out paneer and spinach, cauliflower, brocolli ... in fact I will love to hear more combos.