Lasagna, Hold the Meat

My sister Megan in Indianapolis, Indiana has been a vegetarian since we were young.  As children, my mother and father were very supportive of this decision and cooked a veggie version of whatever we were having for dinner that evening.  When staying with Megan and her husband Ben, Amanda and I decided to make vegetarian lasagna as a main course that we could all enjoy.

Lasagna is a dish that can be made vegetarian and, if made well, not even the most ravenous of carnivores will miss the meat.  For this particular lasagna recipe, we took a tip from the Swedish cooks I worked with at Aquavit (who love all things dairy) and included a white sauce between the tomatoey layers of pasta. We were equally inspired by the many fresh summer vegetables that we found at the market.

Even with white sauce, lasagna is not complete without tomatoes.  For our version, we roasted fresh plum tomatoes to include with the summer vegetable ragout for the filling.  By covering the tomatoes and cooking them in the oven, they roast and steam at the same time developing flavor and are easy to peel. This recipe is simple to make and the tomatoes can be used either diced or whole for many different applications including stews, soups, and pastas.

Ripe tomatoes are ideal for this method, but it also works great for tomatoes that are under-ripe, especially winter plum tomatoes that maintain good quality year round but are often rather firm. For firmer tomatoes, simply cook them longer until they become tender.

Oven roasted tomatoes (makes 2 cups)
4 ea	Roma tomatoes
1 Tbsp	Olive oil
2tsp	Salt
1 Tbsp	Sugar
1 tsp	Pepper
-Core the tomatoes and cut them in half lengthwise. -Toss the tomatoes with the salt, sugar, pepper, and olive oil. -Place tomatoes, cut side down in a shallow casserole along with any juice and oil. Cover the casserole tightly with foil. -Place the covered casserole in the oven and bake at 350d. F until tomatoes are tender and the skin can be easily pulled off (about 30-40 minutes). -Pull the skins off the tomatoes and discard them. Cut the tomato halves into large dice and reserve the juice and oil.
Source: ChefsOnTheRoad.com

At Aquavit, twice a day the cooks prepared “family meal” for the entire staff. When lasagna was on the menu, the Swedish cooks insisted that we include a bechamel (or white sauce)–along with the standard tomato sauce–inside the lasagna. This was such a delicious addition that now I can hardly consider making lasagna without it!

For this particular bechamel recipe, we used olive oil instead of the more traditional butter to make the roux to thicken the sauce. This is a healthy substitution, and it also aligns with the Italian theme of the dish. We used whole milk to make our lasagna, but any type of low fat or skim milk can be substituted as well.  This recipe can easily be transformed into a delicious sauce base for pasta with the addition of vegetables, seafood, a splash of white wine, and Parmesan cheese.

Bechamel white sauce (makes 1 quart)
1/4 cup	Olive oil
1/4 cup	Flour
3 1/2 cups	Milk
1 Tbsp	Salt
1 tsp	Pepper
-In a medium saucepan, combine the olive oil and flour to form a roux. Cook on medium heat for 1 minute. -Turn the heat to high and whisk in the milk. Heat the sauce until simmering, whisking occasionally so prevent burning. -As soon as the sauce comes to a simmer it will thicken. Season with salt and pepper and continue to simmer and whisk for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. -The sauce will continue to thicken slightly as it sits.
Source: ChefsOnTheRoad.com

This summer ragout fills out the vegetarian lasagna. The vegetables are added in stages to allow flavors to develop by searing the mushrooms and sweating the onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes. It also allows for even cooking by adding the corn, eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes later on to maintain their crisp freshness.

Summer vegetable ragout (makes 5 cups)
2 Tbsp	Olive oil
2 cups	White mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp	Red pepper flakes
6 cloves	Garlic, sliced
1 medium	Spanish onion, sliced
1 medium	Eggplant, quartered and sliced
1 ear	Corn, cut off the cob
1 large	Zucchini, cut in half and sliced
2 cups	Oven roasted tomatoes, diced, with reserved juice
1 Tbsp	Salt
-Heat the olive oil in large saute pan and saute mushrooms on high heat until well browned. -Reduce the heat to medium. Add the red pepper flakes, garlic, and onions to the mushrooms and cook, stirring on medium heat until soft and fragrant–about 3 minutes. -Add the eggplant, corn, and zucchini.  Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until soft–about 5 minutes -Add the oven roasted tomatoes with their juice and cook until the liquid has evaporated–about 5 minutes. Season the mixture with salt.
Source: ChefsOnTheRoad.com

Now it’s time to assemble the lasagna. This is when your construction skills will come into play! Grab a friend to help you put it together if someone is around–it will make the process go faster and it can be lots of fun!  Try to use up all the filling you have, pressing the filling down gently after each layer, and don’t be afraid if it goes a little over the top!

Vegetarian Lasagna (Feeds 6 people)
1 1/2 cups	Ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups (plus 1/2 cup for sprinkling)	Mozzarella cheese
2 tsp	Salt
1 tsp	Pepper
1 package (16 noodles)	Lasagna noodles
2 Tbsp	Olive oil
5 cups	Summer vegetable ragout
2 cups (plus more for serving)	Bechamel white sauce
1 Tbsp	Salt
1/4 cup	Sliced basil
-Combine the ricotta and mozzarella cheeses and season with salt and pepper. Reserve 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese to sprinkle on top of the lasagna. -Cook the lasagna noodles in boiling salted water until just tender. Drain from the water and toss with olive oil to prevent sticking. -Layer 4 lasagna noodles to cover the bottom of a tall casserole or lasagna pan. -On the noodles, spread an even layer of summer vegetable ragout, followed by a sprinkling of the cheeses (use your fingers to break it up), and a generous drizzle of the Bechamel white sauce. -Cover this layer with four more noodles, and repeat the process until you have three layers of filling and all the filling is used up. -Place the final layer of noodles on top and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake in 350d. F oven for 45 minutes. Serve with more bechamel white sauce and sliced basil.
Source: ChefsOnTheRoad.com

This is a special dish for any vegetarian or meat eaters, too.  It can be made well ahead of serving time, and tastes even better the day after it was baked.  Serve it up for a special treat, and enjoy this lasagna, minus the meat!