Foodstuff: Loose lasagna

I find lasagna to be a gigantic pain.

I view mealtime as meditative and am unbothered by how long a recipe takes to make or how arduous it might seem to a less passionate home cook. But lasagna has never felt fun or rewarding.

That is, until I found a ridiculously good white-spinach-and-artichoke lasagna from The New York Times. It’s challenging, with a LOT of steps, but it’s so delicious and makes so many leftovers that I’ve found it’s worth my time, every time.

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Then, I got cocky. I decided to riff on this recipe using some leftover vegetables, and it did not go as expected. Below are the steps I took and the lasagna soup that followed.

VEGETABLE LASAGNA
Serves 4-6
1/4c olive oil

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1 5oz. package baby spinach

1 zucchini, cut into half-moons

1c cremini mushrooms, sliced

Salt and black pepper

4T butter, unsalted

1/4c all-purpose flour

4c half and half*

Freshly grated nutmeg

15 dry lasagna noodles

1c marinara sauce

8oz. cottage cheese (heaping 3/4C)**

1/2c grated Parmesan cheese

1 large egg

1c shredded low-moisture mozzarella

Preheat oven to 400°.

Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high. Add olive oil, zucchini, and mushrooms, and cook, stirring occasionally until all of the moisture has evaporated and they start to caramelize, about 15 minutes. Add the spinach, season with salt and pepper, and stir until wilted, about five more minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.

In the same pan (no need to wash it out), melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour, and cook, whisking constantly, until the smell of raw flour has cooked out and it’s a nice golden color. Add the half and half slowly while whisking, and raise the heat to high, let it simmer, then reduce the heat and continue cooking until it’s as thick as gravy. Season generously with nutmeg***, salt, and pepper. Add half of the bechamel to the bowl with the vegetables. Let cool.

Cook noodles until very al dente, no longer than five minutes.

Add cottage cheese, Parmesan, and egg to the cooled vegetable mixture, season with salt and pepper, and stir to combine.

Assemble the lasagna; in an eight-inch square dish, add enough bechamel to coat the bottom. Top with a thin layer of marinara sauce. Put down a single layer of three noodles, letting the ends rise to the edges of the dish.

Spread half the vegetable mixture evening over the noodles. Turn the dish 90°, put down another layer of noodles again, pressing to the edges of the dish. Spread half of the bechamel evenly over the noodles. Turn the dish again, add another layer of noodles and half of the marinara sauce. Repeat these layers with noodles, vegetables, and bechamel, then top with a thin layer of marinara. Sprinkle on the mozzarella cheese.****

Bake for 20-25 minutes, then let cool for at least 30 minutes.

COOK’S NOTES

* I didn’t have half and half, so I used 2c of heavy cream and 2c of milk.

** I had leftover ricotta, which I think was too wet — and where my problems began.

*** Use more nutmeg than you think!

**** At this point, you can cover lasagna and refrigerate for 24 hours, which I would recommend. Let it come to room temperature before baking.

This lasagna, despite my nice, thick bechamel, and ample (40 minutes) resting time, oozed out so badly when I cut it, I might as well have made a pasta stew. While the taste was good, the appearance was … not. I managed to carve the leftovers from the dish, wrap them in tin foil, refrigerate them and — HAPPY ACCIDENT(!) — the lasagna set up! If the same thing happens to you, let the leftovers come up to room temperature then bake in a small casserole dish at 375° for 30 minutes. Let it rest for 10. Voila, a perfect (and perfectly-cooked) pasta!

Katherine Roberts is a mid-Valley based writer and marketing professional who, like George Peppard, loves it when a plan (or layered pasta dish) comes together. She can be reached via her marketing and communications firm, Carington Creative, at [email protected].