VEGETABLE LASAGNA

With the popularity that my two lasagna recipes seem to have generated, I've decided to post another, more complicated recipe for a vegetable lasagna. This comes from a dear friend who loves good food and is a patient cook who doesn't mind the many steps sometimes involved in creating a complicated dish. This recipe is for a lasagna that's another alternative to the usual meat-filled kind and solves the problem of what to serve your Vegan friends. Get them all together at one time and give them this vegetable lasagna. They'll love it - even your rmeat-eating friends will too - and the many steps involved will all be worth it.

BERT'S VEGETABLE LASAGNA

seves 8

For the vegetable filling

1 medium onion, sliced thin

1/2 T olive oil

4 carrots, cut into julienne strips

1 green bell pepper, cut into julienne strips

1 lb mushrooms, sliced

3 medium zucchini, cut into julienne strips

1 C loosely packed spinach leaves, coarse stems discarded, washed well, spun dry and chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 C fresh basil leaves, washed well, spun dry and chopped

2 T chopped fresh oregano leaves, or 3/4 t dried oregano, crumbled (which releases the oils)

1 t freshly ground black pepper

For the cheese filling

4 large eggs whites, lightly beaten

1/2 lb firm tofu, drained and crumbled

2 C nonfat cottage cheese

1/2 C freshly grated parmesan cheese

5 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 t dried hot red pepper flakes

1/2 t freshly ground black pepper

1/2 C fresh basil leaves, washed well, spun dry and chopped

For the assembly

3 C fresh tomato basil sauce (see recipe below)

3/4 lb lasagna pasta, cooked al dente, drained, rinsed in cold water and patted dry

Make vegetable filling

1. In a large nonstick skillet, saute onion in oil over moderately high heat, stirring, until golden. Add remaining vegetable filling ingredients and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until vegetables are just tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer vegetable filling to a colander and drain excess liquid.

Make cheese filling

1. In a bowl, stir together cheese fillling ingredients until well combined.

Assemble

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Barely cover the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish with about 1/2 C tomato sauce. Top sauce with one layer of pasta and spread pasta with one half of cheese filling. Top cheese filling with half of vegbetable filling and another layer of pasta (laid in opposite direction from the first). Spread pasta with 1/2 cup tomato sauce, remaining cheese fillling and remaining vegetable filling and top with remaining pasta. Spread remaining 2 cups tomato sauced over pasta. Cover dish tightly with foil, tenting slightly to prevent foil from touching top layer and put on a baking sheet. Lasagan can be made 1 day ahead to this point and held, chilled and covered.

3. Bake lasagna in middle of oven for 1 1/2 hours unti bubbling. Let lasagna stand 10 minutes before serving.

BERT'S TOMATO BASIL SAUCE

makes about 3 cups

There's nothing better than fresh ingredients. Here's a basic tomato sauce that uses the goodness and bounty of the summer garden. It's from my friend, Bert, who takes his cooking seriously and always with a memorable outcome. Use this for the Vegetable Lasagna above as well as for other pasta recipes that call for tomato sauce.

3 1/2 lb vine ripened tomatoes, chopped

1 C chopped onion

5 garlic cloves, minced

6 sprigs fresh thyme sprigs, washed well and spun dry, or 3/4 t dried thyme, crumbled

1 bay leaf

1/4 t dried hot red pepper flakes

1 T tomato paste

1/2 C fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1/2 C fresh basil leaves, chopped

1. In a large heavy saucepan, simmer tomatoes, onion, garlic, thyme, bay leaf and red pepper flakes, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 20 to 25 minutes, or until tomatoes are soft and the sauce has thickened. Discard the bay leaf and stir in the tomato paste. Stir in parsley and basil and season with salt and freshy ground black pepper.

I've made this lasagna only once, as a special dinner for distant friends who were staying with me for the weekend, and some of their (and my) other friends. It wasn't until the lasagna was on the table that the wife told me she was allergic to wheat products. I don't remember what I did. I suppose I filled her up with salad and dessert.

Note: If you want to make this recipe in weather when fresh, vine ripened tomatoes are not available, you can substitue a couple of cans of plum tomatoes.

Note: If you want to make this a total white lasagna, you can substitue a bechamel sauce for the tomato sauce. See other recipes on this blog for bechamel sauces. Flavor the sauce, if you wish, with a bay leaf, some thyme and a little nutmeg.