Salt and Stone Lasagna
Winter just requires cozy, warm recipes. And I can’t think of anything more comforting or satisfying than a hearty lasagna filled with late harvest veggies and a rich meaty tomato sauce.
Now by all means, if you have a favorite recipe for lasagna, then skip right past this recipe. But, if you’ve got a house full to feed for a football viewing party or you’re hosting a gathering over the holidays and you need a crowd-pleasing recipe; this is it.
If you’ve been with me the last few years as I’ve shared recipes here in the magazine and in the Scene section of the Yakima-Herald then this will come as no surprise: I’m always looking for ways to hide veggies into recipes. It’s a little game I play with my family, can you spot the vegetable?
All jokes aside, I just really love vegetables and even when I’m in the mood for something decadent and cozy like a lasagna; I still want it to be nutrient-dense and full of good-for-you ingredients. The beauty of this rich tomato-based sauce is its incredibly flavorful and rich lending well to brightening it up with fresh vegetables. But if you’re worried about your vegetable adverse relative, friend or child; don’t fret. The veggies are going to cook down and melt into the sauce seamlessly.
Also, knowing full well my own family was never going agree to a purely vegetarian recipe; I decided to tackle a hybrid version. I wanted all the flavor and texture of vegetables like shredded carrots and zucchini, fire-roasted tomatoes, onion, garlic and hearty mushrooms but I wanted the sauce to be rich and savory with the addition of pork Italian sausage.
Sometimes lasagna can be a little tricky. There are several steps to put one together and the end result can be a bit of a soupy cheesy mess that in theory tastes good but ends up lacking. After a whole lot of trial and error, I think I’ve nailed getting the texture just right. The vegetable and meat sauce requires a fair amount of what I call ‘chop therapy’ but is well worth the effort. Chop therapy just means you have a few items in the recipe that need to be washed, cut and diced. I make it fun by playing music and using it as a few minutes to let my mind drift.
In a large dutch oven, you will brown the Italian sausage before pulling it out and cooking down all the vegetables. The veggies have a chance to sweat out their moisture content and makes it possible to build a hearty thick sauce. From there, assembly is a breeze and an hour in the oven baking and you have a lasagna so full of flavor and richness, I can promise its a recipe you’ll return to over and over again.
Worth mentioning is this recipe is super adaptable to your preferences. If you hate spinach, simply skip it. If you would prefer to add eggplant instead of zucchini or think a red bell pepper would taste good? By all means, add it. The secret to this recipe isn’t the exact configuration of flavors but patience in letting the sauce simmer for a few hours so it can cook down allowing the flavors to intensify. The other secret for the home cook is to salt all along the way as you make this recipe. Think of this sauce the way you would if you were making soup. Salt the vegetables as you sauté them, salt the tomatoes when you add them and salt the sauce one last time, tasting it to make sure you’ve got it just how you like it.
Salt and Stone Lasagna
1 pound no-boil lasagna noodles
16-ounces whole milk ricotta
2 eggs
1 12-ounce bag frozen leaf spinach
1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 pounds mild Italian sausage
1 medium sweet onion
1 large carrot
1 medium zucchini
8 ounces white button mushrooms
3 cloves minced garlic
2 32-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
1 14-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon basil pesto OR fresh minced basil leaves
Kosher salt and black pepper
In a large dutch oven, brown Italian sausage in one tablespoon olive oil over medium heat, breaking up the sausage with a wooden spoon, stirring often until it is cooked all the way through. Turn the heat off to the pot and transfer the sausage to a paper-towel lined plate. Set aside.
Wash, chop and dice the carrot, onion, zucchini and mushrooms. I prefer to grate my carrot and zucchini but you can chop everything into similar size pieces (think minced, keep everything very small). Another option is to use a food processor and pulse the vegetables until they are finely minced and almost a paste.
Transfer the vegetables to the dutch oven and turn the heat to low. Stir the vegetables, scraping up any little brown bits leftover from the sausage. Sprinkle with kosher salt and black pepper, continuing to stir occasionally for about 5 to 8 minutes or until the onion is translucent and the zucchini and mushrooms have cooked down a bit, releasing their moisture.
Add the minced garlic, Italian seasoning and one shake of red pepper flakes to the vegetables, stir and cook together for an additional two minutes. Then add the sausage back into the pot along with the crushed tomatoes, fire-roasted tomatoes, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, sugar and another pinch of kosher salt and black pepper. Stir and reduce the heat to a low simmer. Cover the pot with the lid, leaving a small opening for steam to escape. Let the sauce simmer for at least an hour, stirring occasionally. If you have the time, make the sauce a day ahead of when you plan to serve the lasagna. The sauce becomes more flavorful over time and making it a day in advance will only increase the flavor and richness of the sauce.
When you’re ready to assemble the lasagna, preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl combine the whole milk ricotta cheese, eggs, parmesan cheese and frozen spinach. Mix to combine, breaking up the spinach and sprinkle the mixture with a pinch of kosher salt and pepper.
In a large 9x13 pan, start by covering the bottom of the dish with a layer of sauce. Next, form a layer of lasagna noodles, breaking the noodles into smaller pieces if necessary to make one even layer. Follow with another layer of sauce followed by a layer of ricotta mixture.
I don’t prefer a thick layer of the ricotta, instead I dot spoonfuls across the sauce, knowing it will melt and spread in the oven. Top the ricotta layer with another layer of noodles before starting over again with sauce, then ricotta mixture, and noodles. Try and get two full layers (noodles, sauce, ricotta) before covering the top with noodles and then a final layer of sauce. Garnish with half a cup of shredded parmesan cheese, sprinkled evenly over the top.
Place baking dish on a baking sheet to catch any drips, especially if the dish is extremely full. Gently cover with tinfoil and bake for 30 minutes covered. After 30 minutes, remove the foil and bake another 15-20 minutes uncovered or until the edges are bubbly and the parmesan cheese is melted and beginning to turn golden brown.
Remove lasagna from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes before cutting into it. Serve alongside a loaf of crusty bread a simple green salad and a glass of velvety red wine. Lasagna serves 10.