I have been eating veggie enchiladas for the last 3 days and needed a change. So yesterday I made a lasagna with fresh noodles. It turned out wonderful. I was a little nervous about the noodles, since I do not have a pasta maker, but they turned out fine. My main concern was that they would be too thick. We are still without meat, so it was vegetarian. The meat wasn't missed.
First I made the pasta. It has been ages since I have made any noodles, and this is my first time for lasagna noodles. The dough came together easily, I did have to add a little water to get it pliable.
I allowed the pasta dough to rest about an hour before I rolled it. It was so yellow due to the bright yolks of our chickens eggs.
It was easy to roll when I first cut it in to small rectangles that would eventually be a single noodle, rather that rolling the whole thing first and then cutting it. I got 8 sheets from the recipe. My pasta sheets weren't pretty, the second batch did look a little better than these. Two sheets made a single layer of pasta in the lasagna. Don't stack, they stick together. I boiled water with a little salt and added two sheets at a time. They cooked quickly, I rolled the next two and the ones in the pot were done. I layered then on a large cutting board with a small drizzle of olive oil between each one to prevent them from sticking. JT came in during this process and informed me that it was probably not how the Italians do it. Oh well.
Here is one completed lasagna. I made two and froze one. I have a friend coming over Thursday to enjoy the second one. I also made a Tuscan veggie and bean soup and some fresh bread. The soup was good, but just can't compete with the lasagna.
It was fun to make, but time-consuming. It helps knowing there is one waiting in the freezer. This would be no harder to make 4 and have more in the freezer. Next time.
Here is the Recipe:
Ingredients:
Fresh pasta ( mine was 2 cups flour, 2 eggs and 2 egg yolks), rolled into rectangles and cooked in salted water
Bechamel Sauce (about 2 cups)
Tomato sauce ( added about 1 tsp Italian seasoning to this) (about two cups)
8oz of spinach, chopped; lightly sauteed
8 oz ricotta
1 roasted red bell pepper, diced
4 oz crimini mushrooms sliced and sauteed in small amount of olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
salt
First, make all the different components: tomato sauce, bechamel, pasta sheets and ricotta mixture. To make the ricotta mixture, combine spinach, ricotta, bell peppers, mushrooms, garlic and salt to taste. Do taste it to make sure it isn't bland.
I had enough pasta for 4 pasta layers. First I put down half the bechemel sauce, add pasta layer, sprinkle half the mozzarella and top with all the ricotta mixture, add a pasta layer then all the tomato sauce, add another pasta layer and the remaining bechamel, add a final pasta layer and the remaining mozzarella cheese.
This recipe is an adaptation of a fresh lasagna recipe found in The Simple Art of Cooking. A truly wonderful book.
