I have been making lasagna recently quite a bit. It is not too hot outside yet so I can turn the oven on but we want something on the lighter side too … so this dish seems to fit the bill. Of course, you can make this dish any time of the year. Lasagna is an Italian specialty. Traditionally, it is made with layers of tomato sauce based ragu, cheese and béchamel sauce. In this dish, I replaced the meat with spinach, mushrooms and cheese. I served it with red wine that seemed to compliment it very nicely.

Spinach is a great vegetable for the spring, it is hardy and nourishing for the liver.

Of course, an important part of the lasagna is the pasta. The best is if it is home made but good, high quality packaged pasta will do too.

Also, the cheese is also important. Try to get the best quality you can afford. Honestly, when I was in Italy, the first thing that I noticed was how tasty the cheese was in their dishes. I like to use a mixture of cheeses, here I used fresh mozzarella cheese balls, feta cheese and Parmesan cheese.

I make my own Italian seasoning but of course any store bought mix would work too. I think this is a nicely balanced mixture of spices grown in Italy. They are carefully selected herbs so one herb will not overpower the other. Also, they all are carminative therefore will help with digestion. Historically, we can thank the ancient Greek doctors who added these herbs to dishes so people can get their benefits all year along.

The warming, aromatic oregano is the key ingredient in pasta dishes. I like to use it because it gives a nice, distinctive flavor to Italian dishes. The sweet fennel seeds are acrid and compliment the strong aromatic oregano in the dish. The delicate basil is probably the most loved and popular spice used in Italian cooking. If you can, try to use the fresh plant instead of the dried. Its aromatic flavor is a nice addition to any Italian dish. The pungent chili pepper is not a big part of the Italian cuisine but Italians enjoy adding a little to their pasta dishes. The oregano and the fennel seeds both can offset the heat of some stronger spices.

Italian seasoning

2 TBSP (6 tsp) dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil or handful of fresh basil

2 tsp ground fennel seeds

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/4-1/2 tsp hot red pepper or to taste (optional)

RECIPE

Serves 6-8 people

Ingredients

• lasagna pasta (I used 10 strips)
• 16oz spinach (frozen is fine too)
• 4-8 oz chopped up mushrooms
• olive oil
• 2 slices of bacon, sautéed (optional)
• 1 cup of tomato sauce – divided
• 8 oz of Parmesan cheese, divided
• 16 oz fresh mozzarella balls
• 8 oz (200g) of feta cheese
• 1 Tbsp of Italian seasoning plus more for the top
• handfull of fresh basil leaves (if you have them)
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Bachamel sauce ingredients

• 5 Tbsp of butter
• 1/2 cup of flour
• 2 cups of milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 egg

• Rosso Piceno wine. Bottled by Saladini Pilastri 2018 (optional) It is the best and not expensive!
• parsley leaves (chopped)

Directions

Start boiling the water for the pasta (omit if your pasta does not need to be boiled).

Preheat the oven to 400 F and have the rack in the middle of the oven.

Start boiling the water for the pasta. Prepare according to instructions.

Making the filling: In a pan, sauté bacon (optional) and mushrooms in a little oil for 5-10 minutes. Transfer into a bowl. Meanwhile wash and take stems off the spinach. If using frozen spinach of course no need to do it. Sauté in a little oil and water. Remove and try to drain off water. Chop spinach well and transfer into the bowl. Add mashed feta cheese, mushrooms, 1 egg, garlic, 1 Tbsp of the Italian seasoning (see recipe above). Add sautéd bacon if used. Mix.

Preparing the béchamel sauce. It is not too hard, just follow the steps. I used a whisk. In a double boil;er, warm up 5 Tbsp of butter on low heat, when melted increase the heat to medium high and add the flour slowly, stirring continuously. Then start adding the milk very slowly, stirring after each addition and wait for a minute to let the flour mixture soak up the milk. When you start seeing bubbles, it is done. Take off heat. Grate some nutmeg. Take off heat, add 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese and 1 egg. Last time I forgot the egg and the sauce was still fine. So I will add here that it is optional especially if you are already adding cheese. Mix well.

Assembling the lasagna: Put half the tomato sauce on the bottom. tomato sauce on the bottom of a 3 Qt size baking dish. (2Qt size will work ok too). Place 1 layer of the pasta strips on the bottom of the pan. Put the filling on top of the pasta, followed by the fresh mozzarella balls (cut up if using the larger balls), pour the béchamel sauce and top it all with another layer of the pasta. Spread some pasta sauce and the shredded Parmesan cheese on the top.

Turn the oven heat down to 375 F and put the lasagna in the oven. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes or until the top is nice and golden brown.

Serve hot with a little grated Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley on the top. I really enjoyed a glass of red wine with the dish. It felt like I was in Italy! I would recommend a bottle of red wine if you are looking for one to try (please see details above in Ingredients).

enjoy!

Source

• Matthew Wood: Earthwise
• Paul Pitchford: Healing with Whole Foods

Photo, recipe, text by twincitiesherbs.com.