grant@cstr.ed.ac.uk (Grant Mason) (02/20/91)
Many, many thanks to all those who e-mailed me with their recipes and tips. I tried some out at the weekend by taking bits from each recipe, and by putting a *whole* bulb of garlic in .... mmmmmmm!!! Absolutely delicious. Below are the choicest contributions : Date: Tue, 12 Feb 91 20:35:52 -0500 >From: laurie bechtler <lbechtle@edu.uc.uceng> The bean lasagne in Jane Brody's Good Food Book is actually quite good. I don't post from home, so I can't type it in, but the cookbook is easy to find. Actually, it's not hard to improvise with lasagne. Basically you got your noodles, your cheese (some people may even want to skip that), some kind of sauce (tomato based or white sauce type), and any kind of stuff that you want to throw in, whether it be meat or veggies. Jane's bean lasagne uses chopped kidney beans (I use canned) to make a tomato sauce with onions and garlic, just as if you were making meat sauce. The rest is the same as traditional lasagne. If you are really trying to cut down the fat level, use ricotta only or ricotta plus low-fat mozzarella or cheese substitute. >From: Hazel Sydeserff <hazel> Date: Thu, 14 Feb 91 11:28:02 GMT I usually make something up when I want to make a veggie dish i.e. I don't have hard-and-fast recipes. Try: a chopped onion tons of garlic sliced courgettes sliced carrots tin of tomatoes sliced mushrooms basil, oregano, and a bay leaf lasagne verdi Basically, bung everything in a pan and fry it. Then layer it in a dish with sheets of lasagne and top the whole thing with white sauce sprinkled with Parmesan (dad's socks) cheese. I haven't added any weights as it depends how much you want to make in one go. You can always use soya mince if you need a meat substitute - Real Foods do nice stuff. Buy the darkest stuff, though, as the lighter brown stuff never looks cooked and is a bit nauseating. If you need any more inspiration for feeding a hungry wife, I'll lend you my Rose Elliot cookbook - it's full of mostly easy and all very yummy recipes. Date: Thu, 14 Feb 91 10:08:18 -0500 (EST) >From: Gretchen Miller <grm+@edu.cmu.andrew> To: Grant Mason <grant@edinburgh.cstr> Oops. Here it is again: If you can get "spaghetti sauce in a jar" in Edinburgh, here's a quick&dirty veggie lasagna. Get a large jar of your favorite meatless spaghetti sauce (about 1.5 lbs I think). My favorite is the one with mushrooms and peppers. Also get 1 lb lasagna noodles, 1 lb mozzarella cheese (sliced or grated) and about the same amount of grated parmesan cheese. Cook the lasagna noodles about 3 minutes (done, but still firm). In your lasagna pan, put a layer of noodles, a layer of sauce and a layer of cheese (both types). Continue until you're out of stuff (It's usually best to end with a layer of cheese. Bake in at 350-375 until done, about 30 minutes. It's not exactly gourmet, but it's good. Enjoy! toodles, gretchen >From: hammond@steinmetz.steinmetz.UUCP (steve) Subject: Spinach Lasagna Recipe Date: 12 Aug 87 14:13:00 GMT Basically, just substitute chopped spinach for ground beef. =========================================================== Vegetable Lasagna (Mom's :-) ) 1 large onion, chopped 1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced 4 TBS olive oil .5 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced 1 15oz can tomato sauce 1 6oz can tomato paste 1 tsp sugar .25 tsp pepper .5 ts oregano 2 10oz pkgs frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained .75 of a 16oz package of lasagna noodles 1.5 pounds of Ricotta cheese .75c grated parmesan cheese Saute the onion and garlic in 2 TBS of oil until translucent. Add mushrooms and saute until tender. Add more of the oil as needed. Stir in tomato sauce, paste, and seasonings Cover and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in spinach. Cook lasagna noodles as directed on package. Rinse with cold water and drain. Arrange half of the noodles in a greased baking dish (13x9x2). Spoon half of the tomato mixture on noodles, then top with half of the ricotta and parmesan. Sprinkle with a little pepper. Repeat layers, ending with parmesan. Can be made ahead and refrigerated or frozen. Bake uncovered in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand briefly before cutting. >From: IO00053@EARN.MAINE Date: Thu, 14 Feb 91 12:30:59 EST I am a very poor vegetarian lasagna addict. So, I have to skip the fresh veggies in the standard "garden lasagna" in favor of some staple-type stuff. Here's what I do: (yes, the measurements are non-existent. real chefs NEVER measure.) Take a 1-pound jar of cheap spaghetti sauce (I get Enrico's). Pour into a big pot and add Italian seasoning in a thick layer over the top. Stir well. Chop a medium-size (tennis ball size) onion and a green pepper (about the same size) and peel 3 cloves of garlic. Toss these in a big skillet with some oil and saute until soft. (yes, leave the garlic cloves whole.) mash the garlic cloves with a fork and shovel the whole mess into the pot of spaghetti sauce. Cook 4-6 Morningstar Farms Breakfast Links (spicy little things supposed to emulate sausage but no meat - they're not even close but they're very good in their own right) according to the directions on the box. Chop and add to the sauce. Add a couple of handfuls of Romano/Parmesan cheese and an 8-oz can of mushrooms(drained). Simmer a while. Take a 1-pound tub of cottage cheese (again, the cheap kind) and empty it into a largish bowl. Thaw a 10-oz package of chopped spinach by running hot water over it and squeeze it as dry as you can. Chop it up some more and add to the cheese. Beat 1 egg and throw it in too. Add a small handful each of basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, parsley, marjoram and summer savory(if you have it). Nice big shot of garlic powder (eek!) doesn't hurt either. Stir well. Add a handful of dry breadcrumbs and stir - the mixture should be fairly dry but not crumbly. (try making sand-castles with it - they should hold together well. :-) ) Sometimes I grind up leftover steamed "whatever-veggies" to add here too. Cook your lasagna noodles any way you please. Drain and rinse with cool water. (remember not to get them all-the-way tender as they'll finish cooking in the oven. Construct lasagna in pan this way... (from bottom up) thin layer of sauce, noodles, ricotta, sauce, mozzarella, noodles, ricotta, sauce, mozzarella, noodles, and so on till you run out of either pan space or ingredients (I usually manage 3 layers.) End with a layer of noodles topped with a thick layer of mozzarella. Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes at 350F. Cool and store in refrigerator overnight.(this improves the entire thing greatly - mellows the flavors! To serve, bring to room temperature and bake at 350F for about 20 min. or until hot and browned (oops, you have to uncover it 1st!). Pig out. This freezes well for about 3 months (I freeze serving size portions which nuke in about 3 minutes at work for lunch). It's the perfect veg lasagna for serving to people who thing veg food is all oatmeal gruel and bean sprouts.... Mari