Lasagna Lite

What could be more comforting than a big pan of lasagna? Nothing, that's what. But lasagna can also be rather heavy and the caregivers I was cooking for lean much more to the light side. Searching my memory for a recipe that would be comforting but not anchoring, I remembered a veggie lasagna recipe that I've been making for years.

Back in my salad days, I worked for a couple of years as the manager of a dormitory on the Stanford University campus, Mirrielees House, while my first husband worked on his MBA. It is a big building, modern in style but keeping that Stanford look of cream walls and terra cotta tile roofs, filled with small one-bedroom apartments for unmarried students.

My job was not taxing - in fact, after a couple of weeks of virtual boredom, I felt compelled to confess to my boss's boss that I was wasting the university's money. He reassured me that my presence was important despite the long hours of doing nothing and urged me to bring books or knitting to while away the time. I got a lot of reading done during those two years. One of the ideas I came up with to kill time was to compile and print a cookbook of recipes from each apartment.

I put a notice in each mailbox and asked the students to contribute recipes they enjoyed. In those benighted pre-computer and pre-copier days, I typed out the recipes, drew little illustrations, ran off the copies on the ditto machine (which broke down frequently), collated and stapled the book. It even had beverage suggestions, a place for cooking notes and serving suggestions. It is called "The Pocket Gourmet" and includes this recipe for veggie lasagna that I have made ever since. I took two copies of the book for myself, and still have both. One is stained and dog-eared, the other pristine. All these years later, I am still very proud of conceiving and producing that funny little paperback book from start to finish.

As I worked on the lasagna, I was remembering the good times at Stanford - my wonderful African American boss who taught me so much about race relations and about patience with students, the fun of the Spouse Quarter Courses I took and learned that I was smarter than I thought, the apartment in Escondido Village (on-campus married student housing) that my first husband and I shared as newlyweds - it had radiant heating, something I have dreamed of having ever since. All that good karma went into the lasagna.

The dish was a hit with the caregivers and, since one of them is Molly Wizenberg, I feel particularly flattered and pleased. But now I'm just braggin'; here's the recipe:

Vegetable Lasagna, from the Pocket Gourmet, 1973

The best part about a recipe like this is that it's an outline - you can change it up and spiff it up any way you like, subbing in different veggies and using interesting cheeses. I also top this with mozzarella cheese before baking, although the original recipe didn't call for that.

Sauce

16 oz can tomato sauce

10-12 mushrooms, cut into chunks

1 chopped onion

Green pepper (I always leave this out as green peppers don't like me)

Any other vegetable, chopped (I used carrots, scallions, garlic this time but I vary it with whatever I have on hand - zucchini, summer squash, winter squash, whatever)

Herbs to your taste - I usually use thyme, basil and sometimes a bay leaf, which I remove after cooking.

Filling

8 ounces ricotta cheese

4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese (I have gotten fancy in my old age and now use ParmReg, freshly grated

1 package frozen spinach, thawed and water squeezed out

Noodles

8 ounces lasagna noodles, boiled to al dente in salted water

Chop the veggies. Brown the mushrooms in olive oil or butter, or both, add the tomato sauce and the rest of your veggies and simmer for about 45 minutes. Make filling by mixing the filling ingredients together and prepare the noodles according to package directions while the sauce is simmering.

Lay a layer of noodles into the bottom of a large baking dish or lasagna pan. Spread about 1/3 of the filling over the noodles and ladle about 1/3 of the sauce over that. Another two layers of noodles, filling and sauce. Top with slices of mozzarella cheese and bake for half an hour at 350 degrees.

Ugly But Lovely

This is one of those dishes that look rather like someone threw up on the plate and served it to you. You have to close your eyes to love this one. But, close them, because this is worth a little blind flying with a fork.

Cousin Jan served this right after the killer black bean soup. I had eaten so much soup that I thought to myself, "Man, I'll never get through all this."

Well, I not only ate it all, I wished for seconds! Try it - I guarantee you'll enjoy it. It's pretty ugly but it's truly lovely.

Chard and Red Potato Lasagna

6 medium red potatoes (about 2-1/2 lbs)

1 garlic clove, peeled and bruised (for rubbing the pan).

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
6-1/2 Tablespoons butter
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
19 baby chard leaves or 9 large leaves (about 2 bunches of large chard), coarsely chopped, with thick mid-ribs removed
Chopped oyster mushrooms (optional)
8-10 ounces grated Swiss or Monterey Jack cheese
4 Tablespoons cream

Slice the potatoes as thinly as you can and set aside.

Rub a large baking pan with the garlic and 1/2 Tablespoon of the butter. Place a layer of potatoes in the pan, sprinkle with half of the salt and pepper, garlic, a third of the butter, and half of the chard leaves. Although the chard may seem very bulky, it will wilt down during the cooking. Sprinkle half the cheese over the chard. Repeat, making another layer, ending with the cheese. (You can also use a loaf pan and divide everything into thirds, so you have three layers instead of two).

Dot with remaining butter and pour cream over the top. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour, until the potatoes are thoroughly done and soft. May not take the full hour.

The dish I tasted did have the mushrooms in it and they were good. I could imagine this would be delicious with other cheeses, too. It's similar to scalloped potatoes - you can add whatever you like and it's delicious!

Supportive Supper

I had been dreaming of making vegetable lasagna for a couple of weeks when a young friend's emergency trip to the hospital gave me the perfect motivation - her family is vegetarian and needed some hot dish love.

I got the basic recipe from a student at Stanford when I worked there years and years ago. We compiled a fun little cookbook called The Mirrielees House Pocket Gourmet from recipes the students' mothers had given them. I did all the typing (no computers back then!), design, layout, art work, mimeographing and assembling of the book, so it is precious to me. My copy, however, is all spattered with years of cooking juices, especially the page with the recipe for veggie lasagna.

I can't say that I make this from scratch - I use packaged noodles, frozen chopped spinach, store-bought cheeses and canned tomatoes. To those, I add all kinds of veggies, depending on what looks good in the store, and lots of herbs. This lasagna is not as heavy as traditional meat lasagna - you can have a second helping without regretting it later. It's a bit of a chore to make but worth the effort once you are sitting down to a steaming plate.

The recipe in the book is pretty sketchy so I will flesh it out a little here but it's one of those where you can really add whatever you like in the way of veggies and herbs and it will still be delicious.

Mirrielees House Vegetable Lasagna

Sauce:
1 15 oz can tomato sauce (I sometimes add a can of chopped tomatoes, too)
15-20 small fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 large chopped onion
2-3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 green (or colorful) pepper
any other vegetables (I typically use carrots, zucchini, pattypan or summer squash, cauliflower)
1 cup dry red wine
a big pinch of herbs de provence, and/or basil, oregano, thyme - whatever herbs you like
salt, pepper

Filling:
16 oz ricotta cheese
8 Tbs grated Parmesan cheese
1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed

Noodles:
1 package lasagna noodles (8 oz package to make a small pan of lasagna)

Topping:
Grated mozzarella cheese for the top

Cut up the veggies in a coarse chop. Brown the mushrooms in olive oil in the bottom of a large pot. Once the mushrooms are browned, add the onion and garlic and soften them, then add the rest of the sauce ingredients and simmer for 45 minutes or an hour, uncovered.

While the sauce is bubbling away, mix the ricotta and Parmesan cheeses with the thawed spinach. You can squeeze out the spinach if it's very watery - otherwise, I just mix it in. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to boil, add a little salt and the lasagna noodles and cook until they are pale but still firm. They will cook more in the sauce so you don't want to overcook them now. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water to make them easier to handle and to keep them from sticking together.

When the sauce is ready, cover in a thin layer of sauce the bottom of your lasagna pan to keep the first layer of noodles from sticking to the pan. How big a pan you need depends on how much sauce you have made. Sometimes, I can fit it all into an 8" square pan - other times, I really need a larger one. I'd err on the side of one too large, rather than too small.

Lay in a layer of noodles, then filling, then sauce. Repeat until you have used up all your ingredients, ending with a layer of sauce. Sprinkle the top with grated mozzarella and cover the pan with foil, crimping the edges to seal. Can be made ahead to this point and refrigerated.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about an hour (30 minutes if you didn't refrigerate), uncovering for the last 15 minutes to allow the cheese on top to brown lightly. Remove from oven and let stand for about 15 minutes to firm it up and to cool it a bit - otherwise, it's too hot to eat.

*****

I have it on good authority that even small children enjoy this lasagna, despite the spinach; my friend's young son had two big helpings. She is doing well, by the way, sailed through the surgery in fine style and was texting messages to Facebook within an hour of waking up. Happy ending for us, too, as we kept our own pan of lasagna to enjoy at home.