Lasagna with Ricotta and Eggplant

I ate a lot of Eggplant this summer and here I am craving it again.  I should make my mom's eggplant parmigiana again soon.  There's something about having that dish in the cool weather.  It's especially good leftover in a sandwich on a fresh Italian roll.  Here is another dish that hits the spot on a cold day, especially if you are a fan of eggplant.  Remember the pasta with roasted garlic and eggplant sauce I made this summer?  I had some leftover in my freezer and thought that it would be fantastic in lasagna.  Guess what?  I was right!

Lasagna with Roasted Garlic and Eggplant


1 15 oz carton Ricotta
1 large egg, beaten
approx 1/4 cup fresh parsley
approx 3/4 cup romano cheese, plus extra for sprinkling
pepper

1 box no boil lasagna sheets

1 cup shredded mozarella
1 1/2 cups roasted garlic and eggplant sauce, warm
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce, warm (see recipe below)

Directions:
In a medium bowl combine ricotta, egg, parsley, 3/4 cup cheese and pepper. In a small baking dish ladle in some marinara sauce to cover the bottom of the dish.  Add a layer of no bake lasagna sheets.  Add another layer of sauce and sprinkle with some cheese.  Add about half of the ricotta mixture and spread evenly.  Add a think layer of shredded mozzarella.  Top with another layer of the pasta.  If possible turn the lasagna sheets this time around so the layers alternate (horizontal, vertical) and the layers stay together.  (Sometimes the lasagna sheets are too short and this doesn't work but this is what we always did when we boiled the sheets.) Add another layers of sauce and sprinkle of cheese.  Don't be stingy on the sauce because the moisture is what cooks the pasta.  The second layer will be all of the eggplant sauce and a layer of mozzarella.  Once again add a layer of pasta, marinara sauce and grated cheese.  Top with the rest of the ricotta mixture and more shredded mozzarella.  Top with the final layer of pasta, marinara sauce, cheese and some shredded mozzarella.  Cover with foil.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour.  Let settle for 15 minutes before slicing.

Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:


1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
4 cloves minced garlic
1 medium onion, diced
3 tsp chopped fresh basil (use less if dried)
1-2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp sugar
extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Sweat onions in extra virgin olive oil and then add garlic in oil. Let it cook for a minute or to and then add crushed red pepper and frozen or dried herbs. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper and sugar. If using fresh herbs add now. Let it come to a boil and then lower heat. Cook on medium for 30-40 minutes. Taste it and adjust seasoning as needed.

Roasted Eggplant Sauce

Ingredients:

2 eggplants, partially peeled (peel every other section so it looks striped), cut into large dice
4-5 tomatoes, cut into large dice
1 large vidalia onion, cut into large dice
1 head of garlic
Fresh basil
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
pecorino romano cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Prepare 3 sheet pans with parchment paper (makes clean up a lot easier) and spread out eggplant and onion over 2 cookie sheets and put the tomatoes on the 3rd. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and toss to coat.

3. Slice top off of the head of garlic so garlic is exposed. Drizzle with oil, salt and pepper. Wrap well in foil and place in a small oven safe bowl or if you have space on your cookie sheet put it there. (Do not put it directly in oven as the oil make leak out and onto your oven.)

4. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes and toss and flip so all sides get color. Cook veggies until soft and browned. Tomatoes may come out sooner than the eggplant. Check on the garlic - when a knife can easily pierce the garlic it is ready. The garlic can easily over cook and become burnt and hard. Check every 5 mins afterward if it's not yet ready. Remove everything from the oven and allow to cool.

5. When garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze out of the papery skin. It will come right out. When veggies have cooled down add them and garlic to a food processor (you may have to do this in batches and just add to a bowl to combine when it's all blended). If it's very thick drizzle in some oil while the food processor is on. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add torn basil.


Click here for a printable version of this recipe.

Lasagna with Ricotta and Eggplant

I ate a lot of Eggplant this summer and here I am craving it again.  I should make my mom's eggplant parmigiana again soon.  There's something about having that dish in the cool weather.  It's especially good leftover in a sandwich on a fresh Italian roll.  Here is another dish that hits the spot on a cold day, especially if you are a fan of eggplant.  Remember the pasta with roasted garlic and eggplant sauce I made this summer?  I had some leftover in my freezer and thought that it would be fantastic in lasagna.  Guess what?  I was right!

Lasagna with Roasted Garlic and Eggplant


1 15 oz carton Ricotta
1 large egg, beaten
approx 1/4 cup fresh parsley
approx 3/4 cup romano cheese, plus extra for sprinkling
pepper

1 box no boil lasagna sheets

1 cup shredded mozarella
1 1/2 cups roasted garlic and eggplant sauce, warm
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce, warm (see recipe below)

Directions:
In a medium bowl combine ricotta, egg, parsley, 3/4 cup cheese and pepper. In a small baking dish ladle in some marinara sauce to cover the bottom of the dish.  Add a layer of no bake lasagna sheets.  Add another layer of sauce and sprinkle with some cheese.  Add about half of the ricotta mixture and spread evenly.  Add a think layer of shredded mozzarella.  Top with another layer of the pasta.  If possible turn the lasagna sheets this time around so the layers alternate (horizontal, vertical) and the layers stay together.  (Sometimes the lasagna sheets are too short and this doesn't work but this is what we always did when we boiled the sheets.) Add another layers of sauce and sprinkle of cheese.  Don't be stingy on the sauce because the moisture is what cooks the pasta.  The second layer will be all of the eggplant sauce and a layer of mozzarella.  Once again add a layer of pasta, marinara sauce and grated cheese.  Top with the rest of the ricotta mixture and more shredded mozzarella.  Top with the final layer of pasta, marinara sauce, cheese and some shredded mozzarella.  Cover with foil.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour.  Let settle for 15 minutes before slicing.

Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:


1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
4 cloves minced garlic
1 medium onion, diced
3 tsp chopped fresh basil (use less if dried)
1-2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp sugar
extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Sweat onions in extra virgin olive oil and then add garlic in oil. Let it cook for a minute or to and then add crushed red pepper and frozen or dried herbs. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper and sugar. If using fresh herbs add now. Let it come to a boil and then lower heat. Cook on medium for 30-40 minutes. Taste it and adjust seasoning as needed.

Roasted Eggplant Sauce

Ingredients:

2 eggplants, partially peeled (peel every other section so it looks striped), cut into large dice
4-5 tomatoes, cut into large dice
1 large vidalia onion, cut into large dice
1 head of garlic
Fresh basil
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
pecorino romano cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Prepare 3 sheet pans with parchment paper (makes clean up a lot easier) and spread out eggplant and onion over 2 cookie sheets and put the tomatoes on the 3rd. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and toss to coat.

3. Slice top off of the head of garlic so garlic is exposed. Drizzle with oil, salt and pepper. Wrap well in foil and place in a small oven safe bowl or if you have space on your cookie sheet put it there. (Do not put it directly in oven as the oil make leak out and onto your oven.)

4. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes and toss and flip so all sides get color. Cook veggies until soft and browned. Tomatoes may come out sooner than the eggplant. Check on the garlic - when a knife can easily pierce the garlic it is ready. The garlic can easily over cook and become burnt and hard. Check every 5 mins afterward if it's not yet ready. Remove everything from the oven and allow to cool.

5. When garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze out of the papery skin. It will come right out. When veggies have cooled down add them and garlic to a food processor (you may have to do this in batches and just add to a bowl to combine when it's all blended). If it's very thick drizzle in some oil while the food processor is on. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add torn basil.


Click here for a printable version of this recipe.

Lasagna Rolls

Yesterday I told you how we make an American Holiday Italian-American by serving an Antipasto course. Not only do we do that but we also have a pasta course. My mom has been trying to cut one of these out for years but I won't have it. They are traditions that I love. Believe me, I understand that it's a lot of food but we all love the leftovers and now that I'm older and help with the cooking it's not too much work for one person (my mother). I originally was going to make homemade manicotti but my mom didn't want it. So sort of at the last minute I decided to make this lasagna rolls which is more portion controlled than lasagna and less work than manicotti but essentially, it's the same thing. It makes a lot and I have a nice tray in my fridge for during the week and another small one in my freezer.

Lasagna Rolls


Ingredients:

2 packages of lasagna sheets (NOT the no boil) (you will have some leftover)
6 pounds part skim ricotta (usually comes in 3lb containers)
2 pounds shredded or cubed mozzarella
2 large eggs, beaten
fresh parsley
romano cheese
pepper
Prepared Meat Sauce - use 3 cans crushed tomatoes

Directions:

1.  Cook lasagna sheets in boiling salted water with a drizzle of oil, according to box directions.  This is the ONLY time you should add oil to your pasta water.  These sheets tend to stick and the oil helps to keep them seperated. 

2.  Mix ricotta, romano cheese, pepper and parsley.  Taste and add more romano if needed.  The amount of cheese depends on how salty and strong you  like it.  Add eggs and combine with cheese misture.

3.  In a large casserole pan add enough sauce to cover the bottom.  This keeps the lasagna moist and prevents sticking.  On a large flat surface place a couple of cooked lasagna sheets. Spread some of the ricotta mixture, top with some mozzarella and a spoonful of meat sauce.  Roll and put into the casserole dish. 

4.  Cover with sauce and more mozzarella.   You can freeze now for later use or bake at 350 for 30 minutes to heat through and melt the mozzarella. 

This makes two large casserole dishes.  I used an aluminum pan because I didn't have anything big enough.  It made about 36 rolls.  If you have leftover lasagna sheets (which I did) you can tear them or cut them and toss with sauce.  It's like eating pappardelle, sort of.  Otherwise, make 1 1/2 boxes instead of two. 

I am asking you in advance to forgive my sloppy picture below ( I am not a professional cook or photographer).  I made the mistake of first rolling the sheets in sauce...too messy and completely  unnecessary. 
 
Meat Sauce

Ingredients:

2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 lb ground beef
6-7 basil leaves (or 2 frozen cubes)
salt and pepper
garlic powder
Mrs. Dash
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp sugar

Directions:
Brown ground beef in about 1 Tbsp of oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder, Mrs. Dash, salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Use a potato masher or wooden spoon to break up the meat so you don't have any large chunks. Drain oil from meat and set aside.

Saute onion and garlic in EVOO. Return meat to pot and add tomatoes. Swish water in the cans and add about ½ can of water or as needed so it’s not too thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add basil. Let cook for ½ hour, stirring occasionally so sauce does not burn. Taste again for seasoning. Add 1 tsp of sugar or a little more if needed. Allow sauce to cook for ½ hour more and taste again.

Lasagna Rolls

Yesterday I told you how we make an American Holiday Italian-American by serving an Antipasto course. Not only do we do that but we also have a pasta course. My mom has been trying to cut one of these out for years but I won't have it. They are traditions that I love. Believe me, I understand that it's a lot of food but we all love the leftovers and now that I'm older and help with the cooking it's not too much work for one person (my mother). I originally was going to make homemade manicotti but my mom didn't want it. So sort of at the last minute I decided to make this lasagna rolls which is more portion controlled than lasagna and less work than manicotti but essentially, it's the same thing. It makes a lot and I have a nice tray in my fridge for during the week and another small one in my freezer.

Lasagna Rolls


Ingredients:

2 packages of lasagna sheets (NOT the no boil) (you will have some leftover)
6 pounds part skim ricotta (usually comes in 3lb containers)
2 pounds shredded or cubed mozzarella
2 large eggs, beaten
fresh parsley
romano cheese
pepper
Prepared Meat Sauce - use 3 cans crushed tomatoes

Directions:

1.  Cook lasagna sheets in boiling salted water with a drizzle of oil, according to box directions.  This is the ONLY time you should add oil to your pasta water.  These sheets tend to stick and the oil helps to keep them seperated. 

2.  Mix ricotta, romano cheese, pepper and parsley.  Taste and add more romano if needed.  The amount of cheese depends on how salty and strong you  like it.  Add eggs and combine with cheese misture.

3.  In a large casserole pan add enough sauce to cover the bottom.  This keeps the lasagna moist and prevents sticking.  On a large flat surface place a couple of cooked lasagna sheets. Spread some of the ricotta mixture, top with some mozzarella and a spoonful of meat sauce.  Roll and put into the casserole dish. 

4.  Cover with sauce and more mozzarella.   You can freeze now for later use or bake at 350 for 30 minutes to heat through and melt the mozzarella. 

This makes two large casserole dishes.  I used an aluminum pan because I didn't have anything big enough.  It made about 36 rolls.  If you have leftover lasagna sheets (which I did) you can tear them or cut them and toss with sauce.  It's like eating pappardelle, sort of.  Otherwise, make 1 1/2 boxes instead of two. 

I am asking you in advance to forgive my sloppy picture below ( I am not a professional cook or photographer).  I made the mistake of first rolling the sheets in sauce...too messy and completely  unnecessary. 
 
Meat Sauce

Ingredients:

2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 lb ground beef
6-7 basil leaves (or 2 frozen cubes)
salt and pepper
garlic powder
Mrs. Dash
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp sugar

Directions:
Brown ground beef in about 1 Tbsp of oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder, Mrs. Dash, salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Use a potato masher or wooden spoon to break up the meat so you don't have any large chunks. Drain oil from meat and set aside.

Saute onion and garlic in EVOO. Return meat to pot and add tomatoes. Swish water in the cans and add about ½ can of water or as needed so it’s not too thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add basil. Let cook for ½ hour, stirring occasionally so sauce does not burn. Taste again for seasoning. Add 1 tsp of sugar or a little more if needed. Allow sauce to cook for ½ hour more and taste again.

Bakespace Challenge 2 - Ratatouille Lasagna

For our second bakespace challenge we had to recreate a dish from a movie of our choice. We were asked to put our own unique spin on it. This proved to be a difficult challenge since I could not find a movie right away. I really wanted to use Under the Tuscan Sun but there wasn't any close ups of the dishes or any discussions of what she made. I did finally decide on a movie that I could work with...Disney's Ratatouille. Ratatouille is a french vegetable stew that usually uses eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, peppers, potatoes and tomatoes. There seem to be many versions of this dish which is great for using whatever you have on hand.

To make my own spin on the dish I decided to make a lasagna layered with strips of zucchini and eggplant. I wouldn't call this a vegetable lasagna but I guess it could be considered that. I know vegetable lasagna to inclue spinach or broccoli but either way, I used veggies and it's lasagna. So call is what you wish! I didn't use ricotta in this dish because I wanted to concentrate on the flavors of the squash and not have it muted by a lot of cheese. Peppers are found in most recipes for ratatouille and I wanted to include them but not layered in the lasagna. This turned out to be my biggest problem. I rememeber seeing Rachael Ray make a roasted red pepper sauce and I thought that would be a great way to include the peppers. The idea sounded good but...nope...not so great. I used her recipe as a guide and used a jar of roasted red peppers. The result was a very tangy sauce that I really didn't care for at all. I think if I used my own peppers to flavor the sauce, it would have been much better. I love the flavor that peppers give the sauce when I make my mom's recipe for stuffed peppers (I'll have to share that with you soon.) I think the idea was good, the vegetables were tender but the sauce was a flop. If I had a chance to do it all over again I would make a marinara sauce and do everything else the same.

So the first thing I did was make the sauce. Here is a link to Rachael Ray's recipe if your curious. I used an onion instead of a shallot and I used three cloves of garlic instead of two. Basically, I made my regular sauce just added in some white wine and a jar of roasted peppers that I chopped in the food processor.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/gemelli-with-roasted-red-pepper-sauce-recipe/index.html

While the sauce was cooking I sliced the zucchini and eggplant on a mandoline. I used the 1/4 inch setting and made long slices. I also squeezed the juice and seeds from two small tomatoes and those I sliced by hand.

Next, I fried the zucchini and eggplant in vegetable oil and then drained them on paper towels.



I let the vegetable get lightly browned on both sides.



The next part was very easy if you've made lasagna before. I layered the vegetable between layers of no boil pasta sheets. Sauce on the bottom, sprinkle of romano cheese, three sheets of lasagna, more sauce, romano, eggplant, sauce, mozzarella. That was the first layer. It's important to use a lot of sauce because this is what actually cooks the noodles. Next layer was the same but I used the zucchini on this layer. Next layer was the top layer. On top of the pasta I added sauce, romano and mozzarella. I added the tomatoes here and sprinkled them with cheese.



Cover with foil and bake at 350 for about 1 hour.



When I sliced it you can see that it's not as thick as traditional lasagna. That's because it didn't have the ricotta. It still looked pretty on the plate and the vegetable were nice and tender.



So even though the recipe wasn't perfect, I'm proud of the way I put it together. Like I said, I would absolutely try this again without the roasted red pepper sauce.

Bakespace Challenge 2 - Ratatouille Lasagna

For our second bakespace challenge we had to recreate a dish from a movie of our choice. We were asked to put our own unique spin on it. This proved to be a difficult challenge since I could not find a movie right away. I really wanted to use Under the Tuscan Sun but there wasn't any close ups of the dishes or any discussions of what she made. I did finally decide on a movie that I could work with...Disney's Ratatouille. Ratatouille is a french vegetable stew that usually uses eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, peppers, potatoes and tomatoes. There seem to be many versions of this dish which is great for using whatever you have on hand.

To make my own spin on the dish I decided to make a lasagna layered with strips of zucchini and eggplant. I wouldn't call this a vegetable lasagna but I guess it could be considered that. I know vegetable lasagna to inclue spinach or broccoli but either way, I used veggies and it's lasagna. So call is what you wish! I didn't use ricotta in this dish because I wanted to concentrate on the flavors of the squash and not have it muted by a lot of cheese. Peppers are found in most recipes for ratatouille and I wanted to include them but not layered in the lasagna. This turned out to be my biggest problem. I rememeber seeing Rachael Ray make a roasted red pepper sauce and I thought that would be a great way to include the peppers. The idea sounded good but...nope...not so great. I used her recipe as a guide and used a jar of roasted red peppers. The result was a very tangy sauce that I really didn't care for at all. I think if I used my own peppers to flavor the sauce, it would have been much better. I love the flavor that peppers give the sauce when I make my mom's recipe for stuffed peppers (I'll have to share that with you soon.) I think the idea was good, the vegetables were tender but the sauce was a flop. If I had a chance to do it all over again I would make a marinara sauce and do everything else the same.

So the first thing I did was make the sauce. Here is a link to Rachael Ray's recipe if your curious. I used an onion instead of a shallot and I used three cloves of garlic instead of two. Basically, I made my regular sauce just added in some white wine and a jar of roasted peppers that I chopped in the food processor.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/gemelli-with-roasted-red-pepper-sauce-recipe/index.html

While the sauce was cooking I sliced the zucchini and eggplant on a mandoline. I used the 1/4 inch setting and made long slices. I also squeezed the juice and seeds from two small tomatoes and those I sliced by hand.

Next, I fried the zucchini and eggplant in vegetable oil and then drained them on paper towels.



I let the vegetable get lightly browned on both sides.



The next part was very easy if you've made lasagna before. I layered the vegetable between layers of no boil pasta sheets. Sauce on the bottom, sprinkle of romano cheese, three sheets of lasagna, more sauce, romano, eggplant, sauce, mozzarella. That was the first layer. It's important to use a lot of sauce because this is what actually cooks the noodles. Next layer was the same but I used the zucchini on this layer. Next layer was the top layer. On top of the pasta I added sauce, romano and mozzarella. I added the tomatoes here and sprinkled them with cheese.



Cover with foil and bake at 350 for about 1 hour.



When I sliced it you can see that it's not as thick as traditional lasagna. That's because it didn't have the ricotta. It still looked pretty on the plate and the vegetable were nice and tender.



So even though the recipe wasn't perfect, I'm proud of the way I put it together. Like I said, I would absolutely try this again without the roasted red pepper sauce.