Lasagne Quattro Formaggi

This recipe started out as a good idea, but it didn’t work in practice.

See, I had this idea for a dish called lasagna roll-ups, which was pretty much just like it sounds. But when it came time to assemble it, it just didn’t work.

So this dish was Plan B.

Like Garfield, lasagna is one of my favorite foods. I tend to make lasagna a lot, but I try to keep it fresh by putting different ingredients in it each time. “Quattro formaggi” is simply Italian for four cheeses. In this case, cottage cheese, cheddar, mozzarella and parmesan.

I wouldn’t say lasagna is a quick meal to make because there are a lot of different components. But it is quick to assemble because you can make everything ahead of time at your leisure and just throw it together at the last minute. It’s also convenient because once you assemble it, it can sit in your refrigerator or freezer until you are ready to eat.

It is quite inexpensive as well. Most pasta dishes usually are. The only ingredient that is not completely rock-bottom cheap would be the fat free cottage cheese, and even that was only about $3 for the 1 lb container.

Lasagne Quattro Formaggi

1/2 box dried lasagna noodles

2 TBS extra virgin olive oil, separated

1 lb ground turkey

1/2 white onion, medium dice

1/2 green pepper, medium dice

2 cloves garlic, crushed

8 oz can tomato sauce

2 TBS Italian seasoning

2 tsp sugar

8 oz fat free cottage cheese (or ricotta)

1 egg

1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and drained

Sea salt

Fresh cracked black pepper

1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1. Boil noodles according to package instructions, usually about 10 minutes. Strain and cool under cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.

2. Put cast iron pan on fire. When hot add EVOO. When the pan is smoking, add the turkey and cook until browned. Remove from heat and set aside

3. Put sauce pan on fire. When hot, add EVOO. When smoking add onion and green pepper. Cook until onion translucent, about five minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute, then add tomato sauce, browned ground turkey, Italian seasoning and sugar. Stir together, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook about five minutes.

4. Combine fat free cottage cheese and egg in mixing bowl. Squeeze excess liquid from spinach then add to bowl, season with salt and pepper and mix well.

5. To assemble, spoon a little tomato sauce on the bottom of a casserole dish, then lay strips of lasagna noodles until the entire bottom is covered. Add a layer of the cottage cheese/spinach mixture, then another layer of the sauce. Repeat: lasagna noodles-cottage cheese/spinach-sauce. Repeat again. Top with another layer of noodles, a little more sauce than sprinkle the top with the shredded cheddar and mozzarella. Finally, sprinkle the parmesan over the top and cover with foil. The lasagna can be stored in the refrigerator until you are ready to eat or cooked right away.

6. Preheat oven to 375F. Cook lasagna for 35 minutes covered, then remove cover and cook another 10 minutes so the top gets browned up. Remove from oven and let stand a few minutes before cutting into it.

Have you ever had a great idea for a dish that just didn’t work out? Share your story in the comments section below. And thanks for looking at my blog!

Meat Free Mondays – Vegetarian Lasagna

My dad’s best friend, my Uncle Tony, is Italian and as a boy I looked forward to family parties at his house because his mother was the greatest cook I have ever known.

Her specialty was the lasagna. Layer after layer of pasta, meat, tomato sauce and gooey cheese, its flavor was indescribable. I still tear up a little thinking about it.

Long before it was Garfield’s favorite food, Uncle Tony’s mother’s lasagna was — and remains — the single greatest dish I have ever tasted. The woman was a genius.

Whole Wheat Vegetable Lasagna

Over the years, I have attempted to replicate this lasagna hundreds of times, both in commercial kitchens and at home, but I have never fully succeeded. Don’t get me wrong, my lasagna is super delicious. But it’s like comparing my line sketches to DaVinci’s.

I first made Vegetarian Lasagna back in 2003, when the South Beach Diet was popular. Remember that one? To this day, cauliflower is banned from our dinner table because of that diet’s use of it as a substitute for mashed potatoes.

But this Vegetarian Lasagna isn’t much different than regular lasagna, except you replace the meat with vegetables and you use whole wheat lasagna noodles.

Whole Wheat Lasagna Sheets

Back then, I had to make a special trip to Whole Foods to buy the whole wheat lasagna noodles, which cost like $4.00/box, as I recall. Now, I can buy them at my local Jewel (on sale for $1, bonus!).

This lasagna has five elements – the pasta, the vegetables, the spinach, the sauce and the cheese.

For the pasta, there are two schools of thought: The first says the lasagna noodles are pre-cooked into soft noodles prior to lasagna assembly. The second says they are put in dry and soak up the sauce as it cooks. Having mass produced lasagnas in restaurants, I’m in the latter camp because it’s easier and tastes the same.

I replace the meat with zucchini and yellow squash. The South Beach version called for asparagus as I recall, but we found it made the lasagna taste bitter. I also added an eggplant because I had one left over from the Farmer’s Market.

The sauce is my standard super easy tomato sauce. In this dish, you don’t even need to cook it because it will cook inside the lasagna.

If ricotta is too expensive, you can subsitute cottage cheese. I was prepared to do this when I discovered that the generic ricotta was cheaper than cottage cheese. Winning!

This recipe, inspired by Uncle Tony’s mother, is adapted from the South Beach Diet Cookbook.

Whole Wheat Vegetable Lasagna

For the sauce

3-8 oz cans tomato sauce

2 TBS Italian Seasoning

2 tsp sugar

For the cheese filling

15 oz package reduced-fat ricotta cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1 egg

1 TBS Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper

For Assembly

TBS EVOO

1 zucchini, sliced into thin strips lengthwise

1 yellow squash, same

1 eggplant, cut into 1/2″ cross sections

9 sheets whole wheat lasagna noodles

10 oz package frozen spinach, defrosted and drained

1/4 cup fresh mozzarella cut into discs (or shredded)

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a 9″x14″ baking dish with pan spray. In cast iron pan, sear off zucchini, yellow squash and eggplant in EVOO until brown and a little crispy, about 3 minutes per side. Set aside.

2. In mixing bowl, combine ricotta, parmesan, egg, Italian seasoning and S&P.

3. In another mixing bowl, combine tomato sauce, Italian seasoning and sugar.

4. Assemble lasagna by starting with a layer of 3 pasta sheets, topped with a layer of pasta sauce, topped with a layer of the cheese mixture, topped with a layer of the spinach, then a layer of zucchini and yellow squash. Repeat, using eggplant instead of zucchini. Top with a final layer of pasta sheets, tomato sauce and the mozzarella.

5. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and return to oven for another 20 minutes. Let sit 10 minutes after removing for oven so it holds its shape when it’s cut.

What is the best dish you have ever eaten? Share your thoughts in comments section below. And thanks for looking at my blog!