As a personal chef, lasagna is not only one of my favorite things to make for my clients but also one of my favorite things to EAT! I usually make it in aluminum loaf pans found in the baking aisle at the grocery store. One lasagna noodle fits perfectly in the pan if you buy the flat, no bake ones made by Delallo. That way, you don't have a huge pan of lasagna sitting in your fridge that you feel obligated to eat before it goes bad. You can make a few loaf pans at time, if you want, and parbake the ones you aren't going to eat. Let them cool, wrap them tightly in foil, and then simply put the extras in the freezer. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and bake, uncovered, in a 350 oven until hot and bubbly.
Homemade lasagna beats the heck out of the crap in the frozen food section, and there are about a million variations. Besides the traditional meat and cheese sort, you can make it with practically any vegetable (mushrooms, artichoke, eggplant, spinach ... to name a few), so it's a good way to utilize fresh, seasonal produce. For those with wheat allergies, you can use gluten free noodles (rice noodles are actually really good!) or you can even SKIP the noodles and just layer vegetables like zucchini, eggplant, and roasted red bell pepper with sauce and cheese.
Of all the different lasagna recipes I have come across, this Butternut Squash & Swiss Chard Lasagna is one of my favorites. In place of the Swiss chard, you can substitute pretty much any green such as kale, collard greens, dandelion greens, broccoli rabe ..... Any one will work. You can buy sauce in a jar, but I like to make my own. It's super easy. And if you have any extra squash, just put it on a cookie sheet in a single layer and freeze; put it in ziplock bags the next day and it's ready for the next time!
Butternut Squash & Swiss Chard Lasagna
1 small butternut squash Salt & pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
Nonstick cooking spray
4oz part-skim ricotta
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes (or more, to taste)
1 bunch of Swiss chard (or any leafy green), ribs removed & discareded; leaves chopped & washed
2 cups tomato sauce (purchased, or homemade -- see recipe)
3 flat, no boil lasagna noodles (if you are using the skinnier ones with the curly edges, you might need to use 2 per layer, and break them a little to fit in the pan)
1/3 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 foil loaf pan (8" X 3-7/8" X 2-15/32")
Preheat the oven to 375.
Cut the ends off of the squash. To remove the skin, you can use a vegetable peeler or if you have a VERY sharp knife, cut the squash in half crosswise so one piece is the neck and the other pieces is the round, bulbous part of the squash. Setting the squash on a flat end, you can now use your knife to carefully peel the skin away. Cut the peeled chunks of sqush in half lenghtwise, remove the seeds from the bulbous end, and then cut them into 1/4" slices. Toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil & season with salt & pepper. Place them in a single layer on a foil-lined cookie sheet and roast until just tender, about 8-10 minutes.
Coat the loaf pan with cooking spray.
Squeeze the spinach with your hands to extract the liquid. Stir together the ricotta, parmesan cheese, spinach, oregano, cinnamon & nutmeg. Season with a little salt & pepper.
Heat a saute pan over medium heat. Add remaining olive oil to pan and cook the onion until it is translucent. Add garlic & chili flakes to pan and cook until you can smell the garlic, being careful that it does not burn. Add the chard to the pan, and cook until it is wilted, stirring pretty constantly so it cooks evenly. Transfer to a bowl & set aside.
Coat the bottom of a baking dish with about 1/4 cup of tomato sauce. Lay pasta in sauce. Spread half of the ricotta cheese on the pasta, then layer with squash. Lay another sheet of pasta on squash & cover with half of the remaining tomato sauce. Cover with chard (you can freeze any extra in a ziplock bag for next time, or use it to make a second loaf pan!) & spread remaining ricotta on top. Cover with noodles & sauce, sprinkle with mozzarella.
Spray a piece of foil with nonstick cooking spray & tightly cover the dish. Bake until bubbly, about 30 minutes. Test noodles for doneness by inserting a paring knife into the lasagna. As soon as the noodles are tender, remove foil and bake until the cheese browns a little bit. Remove from oven and allow to rest about 10 minutes before serving.
Makes 1 loaf pan; 2 servings.
Basic Tomato Sauce
2-28oz cans of whole tomatoes (preferably San Marzano)
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
8-10 cloves of garlic, smashed, peeled & left whole
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
Put the tomatoes in a big bowl and (this is my favorite part!) squeeze them with your hands!!! Careful, because the juice tends to squirt a little bit. Set aside.
In a large, deep saute pan (big enough to hold all the tomatoes), heat the olive oil over medium to medium high heat. Toss in the garlic cloves. Tilt the pan so the garlic is basically deep frying. Continue cooking until the cloves are golden (do not burn because they will be bitter). Carefully slide in the squished tomatoes (the oil will sputter because of the water content) and stir. Bring to a simmer and then add the bay leaf & chili flakes. Reduce heat to low/medium low, and simmer until the sauce had thickened, stirring frequently so the bottom does not scorch.
You can leave the chunks of tomato, or you can pulse it in a food processor or with an immersion blender for a smoother texture.
Season to taste with salt & pepper.
Makes about 1 quart.
