Vegetarian Lasagna

October means it’s finally cool enough to crank the oven and make some hearty, hefty, cozy comfort foods, right? At least in theory. At least in states other than California.

So…. lasagna time!

Probably the best thing about this vegetarian lasagna is that you can kind of tell yourself it’s healthy, thanks to the homemade tomato sauce and the finely chopped kale that decorate each layer of cheese and pasta.

For the sauce, we used our pizza sauce recipe, and just added some onions with the garlic at the beginning, and cut down the vinegar measurements a bit to keep it a little thicker. This time around we bought roasted red peppers for our layers, but you can also make your own if you want.

Vegetarian Lasagna (printable recipe here)

Ingredients

• 16 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 jar roasted red peppers (or make your own)
• 6-7 ounces kale
• 1 pound mozzarella cheese
• Parmesan cheese (amount will vary, depending on your taste)
• 1 box lasagna noodles
• Red sauce (try this one with at least 2 large cans of tomatoes, plus onions with the garlic, with less vinegar)

Directions

In a small bowl, stir the ricotta cheese and egg until smooth. Chop the peppers into bite-size pieces and finely chop the kale, in a food processor if you like. Tear the mozzarella into small pieces and grate the parmesan cheese.

Time to build the lasagna! Spread a layer of red sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Then cover with a layer of uncooked noodles, just slightly overlapping. You can break the noodles apart to fit your pan. Add another thin layer of sauce. Spread one third of the ricotta mixture onto the sauce, then one third of the peppers and half of the kale. Grate parmesan cheese onto the kale, and top with one third of the mozzarella. Repeat the layers. There will only be kale on the inside layers, not on the top, so skip that step on your third layer (but don’t skimp on the cheese!)

Now, preheat the over to 375˚ (or whatever is written on the pasta box, but don’t let it talk you into precooking the noodles if you want to avoid soggy lasagna). Let the lasagna sit for at least 30 minutes so the noodles can absorb the sauce. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil (but save it) and continue baking for 10 more minutes. Remove the lasagna from the oven, cover with the foil again, and let it rest for at least another 20 to 30 minutes, if you can stand the wait. Serve with salad and garlic bread!

Leftovers

Maybe the best part of lasagna! Store covered in the refrigerator for at least a few days.

P.S. Lasagne or lasagna?

Fave-Find Friday

What’s everyone doing this weekend? We don’t have many plans, but hopefully we can take a long walk around Berkeley, get a little work done, and watch a movie. Enjoy!

Spicy! And cool.

Yesterday we enjoyed a date night at Drake’s Dealership in Oakland. Personal pan pizzas and local brews for the win! Bay Area locals, have you checked out this new-ish place yet?

This simple pasta with broccoli looks delicious, and perfect for a weeknight. We might try it without anchovy.

Cooking as therapy.

Cheat sheet for homemade salad dressings.

This butternut squash galette looks amazing!

CSA Wednesday: Week 41

This week features some beautiful shades of green: leeks, green beans, spinach, potatoes, Asian pears, broccoli, and cabbage.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos

Is there anything better than tacos? Probably not.

We love the combined flavors of sweet potatoes and black beans, so we figured, why not spice them up and wrap them in a freshly fried tortilla?

These vegetarian tacos are easy to make, easy to customize, hearty, and delicious. They are also vegan (as long as you stick to vegan toppings).

There is no real recipe for these guys because they’re really just so easy. We started with a pot of our black beans (you could used canned if it’s easier for you). For the sweet potato: simply peel and chop one sweet potato into 1-inch cubes. Spread on a cookie sheet and toss with olive oil, salt, and cumin. Roast at 450˚ for about 40 minutes, shaking around a few times and checking on them. Remove when they are crispy on the outside and easily poked with a fork. If you like crunchy tacos, fry small corn tortillas in a large pot (helps prevent splattering) filled with about one inch of hot olive oil. Fold them in half in the oil so they’ll hold their shape.

Then, it’s taco-and-toppings time! Try sautéed onions and peppers, chopped romaine, salsa, sour cream, grated cheese, quick-pickled shallots, shredded cabbage, chopped tomatoes, fresh corn, or sliced avocado (always). Serve with a nice salty margarita.

Leftovers

These fillings made for spectacular breakfast burritos! We reheated everything, scrambled some eggs, and wrapped it all up in larger flour tortillas.

Fave-Find Friday

We’re keeping it low-key this weekend so Megan can nurse a cold and Joe can get some work done. What about you?

Just a few links this week:

Apple and tahini dip sounds good.

Did you watch the Democratic debate? Who decides the winner, polls or headlines?

Megan had some friends over on Thursday and served our favorite orzo salad, along with veggies and dip, and crackers topped with goat cheese and fresh Fuyu persimmons from our CSA. What appetizers do you like to serve?

A fun roundup of holiday cocktails, in case you feel like planning ahead.

New StoryCorps video. Touching, as always.

Have a fun weekend!

CSA Wednesday: Week 40

WordPress is letting us post! This feels like a small miracle.

This week in our CSA we got: sweet peppers, garlic, spinach, red kuri squash (new for us!), green beans, watermelon, and Fuyu persimmons. Quite the fall bounty!

CSA Wednesday: Week 39 (late!)

Well, WordPress has been refusing to cooperate with us recently, so this week’s CSA posting is a little late. Here’s what we got on Wednesday (dark photo because it was a looooong day):

Asian pears, spinach, green beans, cilantro, basil, carrots, and potatoes.

Have a great weekend!

Fave-Find Friday: Heading East

New England, here we come! Joe’s already been in Vermont this week, waiting for Megan to join him. We have a special weekend ahead of us: a wedding in Vermont, a baby shower on Cape Cod, fiery reds and oranges to admire, and countless family and friends to hug and kiss.

Have a lovely weekend! Some links:

These dictionary stories are so fun! Short stories composed from the New Oxford American Dictionary’s example sentences.

13 strangest restaurant spots in America. Do you know of any to add to this list?

Sad, sad news in Oregon. What did you think of President Obama’s challenge to the media to compare terrorism deaths and gun-violence deaths? The numbers are pretty staggering.

This broccoli soup looks amazing. Too bad it’s still in the 70s here…