Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Caprese Lasagna aka. Where's the Meat?















I cannot take credit for this meal, as it was made by my sister S. The first time she made this for her family, her husband asked "where's the meat?", because how can one have a lasagna with no meat? He ate it though, and now requests it for nights that he plays hockey because it is some sort of super food that increases his hockey playing abilities.
I can't vouch for how it aids in hockey, but it is a super energizing and delicious meal. I was sort of a skeptic at first, as I am finicky about tomatoes, but this is really good.

Caprese Lasagna
adapted from Rachael Ray

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 cup chicken stock (my sister used 2 cups of milk)
A few grates of fresh nutmeg 
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 box oven-ready lasagna noodles
4 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
Half a bunch basil, chopped (about 30 leaves) (my sister used fresh spinach instead)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1) Pre-heat the oven to 375ºF.

2) Place a large saucepot over medium-heat and melt the butter. Add the garlic to the pan and cook until aromatic, about 1 minute. Sprinkle the flour over the butter and garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Whisk the milk and chicken stock (if using stock) into the butter-flour mixture and bring up to a bubble. Add the nutmeg, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and simmer until thickened, 3-4 minutes.
3) Assemble the lasagna by ladling a small amount (about 1/4 cup, just eyeball it) of the sauce into the bottom of a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish and laying three lasagna noodles over the sauce. Top the noodles with about a third of the sliced tomatoes, a third of the basil, 1/4 cup of sauce and about a third of the shredded cheese. Repeat until all ingredients are used up, topping the lasagna off with a final layer of sauce and shredded cheese.
4) Cover the pan with foil and bake the lasagna for 30 minutes. Remove the foil from the baking dish and bake another 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly. When ready to serve, top with the remaining chopped basil leaves.

I recommend the usage of spinach, it's probably what acts as the energy booster, and spinach is so good for you. If you can find decent basil, use a mix of basil and spinach in the lasagna, but otherwise the lack of basil doesn't mean the lasagna is lacking flavor. The opposite is true, this lasagna is really tasty.

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