Until I very inconveniently became a vegetarian last fall, my family always had Stouffer's meat & cheese lasagna for Christmas Eve dinner. Fancy, right? But it was a major tradition in our house and, trust me, one born of genuine necessity. You see, the planning and execution of elaborate holiday meals has never been our forte. Thanksgiving turkeys and Christmas dinners at home were routinely disastrous (burnt, exploded, overcomplicated or abandoned mid-production in favor of Chinese takeout) and subsequently avoided at all costs. For years, my parents' solution was simply to wangle invitations to dinner. This worked beautifully and I grew up enjoying marvelous and spectacular roasts, Wellingtons, fresh pies and the like, perfectly prepared by my Norman Rockwell-ian godparents and happily devoured in the safety of their predictable kitchen. Christmas day was always covered.
But on Christmas Eve - an equally festive occasion in need of a unique signature dish - we were on our own. This was a dilemma.
Thankfully, time and time again, Stouffer's meaty, gooey and unfailingly yummy processed pasta food came to the rescue. But this Christmas, what with my newly meatless diet and bourgeoning ambitions in the kitchen, the menu changed. I Googled like crazy looking for an adequately tasty and hearty alternative, but no single recipe matched up to the Stouffer's standard. (I mean, nothing else tastes like that, you know? How could I ever hope to emulate a magical blend of mystery meat, cheese product and sodium-laden sauce scientifically devised to intrigue taste buds and seduce the American food brain into mass consumption?)
Faced with such insurmountable odds, I was forced to take a different approach, up-end tradition and make real food. The result? A mélange of ideas tweaked and reworked into what is, if I may venture to say so, the Anti-Stouffers lasagna - and yet simultaneously, miraculously, my mother's new favorite home-cooked meal. The lemon sauce, kalamata olives and feta cheese in particular set this lasagna apart from other veggie varieties, adding a tangy zing to the dish that fans of Mediterranean fare will love. Slice it big, serve it hot, and enjoy with a flavorful cabernet or zinfandel.
Three cheers for the Real Food Revolution.
Ingredients:
1 package lasagna noodles
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 ¼ cups crumbled feta cheese
1 eggplant, sliced into rounds
1 zucchini squash, sliced into rounds
½ red onion, quartered and sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 can artichoke hearts in water, drained and chopped
½ cup (or more, if you're the salty type) kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
1 jar roasted red peppers, drained and coarsely chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
1.5 tbsp flour
1 12 oz. can tomato sauce
Zest of one lemon + juice
1 tsp. Oregano
1 tsp. cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
Recipe:
(Note: this is kind of a big operation, lots of chopping and multiple pots on fire and such. I recommend that you set up with good company and snacks, or at least a lengthy radio program, and a glass of something grape-derived and delectable before getting started; it makes everything much more fun.)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and slice eggplant into thin rounds. Lay rounds in a single layer on a lightly oiled cookie sheet and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 10 minutes per side or until tender (baking time will vary slightly depending on the thickness of your slices). Remove and let cool (but keep the oven on).
Prepare lasagna noodles according to package directions, allowing the water to boil and noodles to cook while performing the following steps. When the noodles are finished, drain and set aside.
Lightly oil a nonstick skillet and begin to sauté garlic and onions. Add a dash each of cumin, salt and pepper and cook on med-high heat for 1-2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add zucchini rounds, cooking for several minutes more. Add chopped roasted red peppers, ¼ cup olives and artichoke hearts, then reduce heat and sauté while adding another ½ tsp cumin, ¼ tsp oregano and additional salt and pepper if desired. Slice eggplant rounds in half and add to the sauté mixture. Remove the mix from heat, cover and set aside.
In a small saucepan, combine olive oil and flour over medium-high heat, stirring until the consistency is uniform. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and tomato sauce, stir to blend and then reduce heat and cover. As the sauce simmers, blend ricotta cheese and ½ tsp oregano in a small bowl.
Season sauce with salt and pepper, if desired; remove from heat.
Spoon 1/3 of the sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan. Layer noodles over the sauce, followed by 1/2 of the ricotta blend and 1/2 vegetable mixture. Repeat with the noodles, cheese and vegetables, ending with noodles. Top it off with the remaining sauce, cover the whole thing with aluminum foil and bake for 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees. When time's up, remove the lasagna and top with crumbled feta cheese and remaining chopped kalamata olives, then return to oven and bake uncovered for an additional 10 minutes or until the cheese begins to melt. Finally, remove and let stand for 15 minutes or so before serving. If you're being classy, add a sprig of fresh cilantro for garnish. Otherwise, just eat and enjoy!
by Lauren Westerfield
