Grilled Vegetable and Tofu Lasagna with Pesto

This dish is as easy-going as summertime itself. Zucchini, yellow squash, and slabs of tofu are briefly grilled and then tossed in a lemon marinade. They can be used right away while still warm, or as they did in my case, they can sit in the refrigerator overnight until they're layered into this lasagna-like construction. The lasagna itself can be served warm, room temperature, or chilled. You can skip the grilled tofu and use slices of fresh mozzarella instead. Or, as I did, you can serve burrata on the side. The fussiest element of this dish is probably the pesto, but that's a treat for me to make because my basil plants are growing strong despite our unstoppable heat. Then, there are the tomatoes which only have to be cut into thick slices, and they're ready to go. This dish has a completely no worries kind of attitude. You can't go wrong with it. The recipe is from the March gardening issue of Living magazine, and I held onto it until big, red, heirloom tomatoes were here and locally grown zucchini and dark, yellow squash were at the peak of their season.

The zucchini and squash were cut into long, thin slices, and the tofu was pressed to remove water and cut into thick slabs. Everything was brushed with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper and grilled for a few minutes per side. After grilling, the vegetables and tofu were placed in a lemon marinade. To make the marinade, olive oil was heated with lemon zest and garlic, and then lemon juice was added. I left the vegetables and tofu covered in marinade in a container in the refrigerator overnight. Next, basil pesto was made the usual way. Toasted pine nuts and garlic were pureed in the food processor, basil leaves were added, olive oil was drizzled in while the motor was running, and it was seasoned with salt and pepper. Then, the lasagna was assembled. The tofu was cut into thinner slices before stacking with the zucchini and squash. Tomato slices and whole basil leaves were included in the layers, and the pesto was dribbled here and there while building. Once completed, the lasagna could go have gone back into the refrigerator, but I served it at room temperature. Surprisingly and pleasantly, it was easy to cut and the layers stayed in place as portions were transferred to plates.

A little smoky flavor from the grill was welcome among the summer vegetables and tofu, and the ripe tomatoes and basil pesto were a fitting sauce. For a bunch of simple, laid-back ingredients, they all came together into a substantial, flavorful, finished meal.

Roasted Corn and Tomato Lasagnettes

Making fresh pasta is, I think, the most fun of all cooking tasks. I also really enjoy rolling out cookie dough and cutting shapes. And, strangely, I find using my cherry pitter and having the pits shoot out of each little fruit to be an entertaining thing to do. There are a lot of enjoyable cooking tasks coming to think of it, but still, making pasta is the best. It’s the simplest of doughs with just eggs, salt, and flour. It miraculously forms into a pliable and easily workable substance. You divide it into whatever portions you find manageable and begin rolling it thinner and thinner. It works. You keep rolling, it keeps becoming thinner and longer. Then, you cut it however you want, and cutting it is so simple. Kurt thought I might have been losing my sanity as I repeatedly asked him if he wanted to roll some of the pasta through the machine. I didn’t want to deprive him of the fun, but he didn’t seem to get it. He kept answering 'I’m good.' I’ve tried a few different pasta dough recipes over the years, and this was the second time I’ve made the fresh pasta recipe from Stir: Mixing It Up in the Italian Tradition. It’s a rich dough that forms well and is easily worked. The lasagnettes recipe is also found in that book.

The dough was rolled into long lasagna sheets which were cut down to about twelve-inch pieces for cooking. The cut sheets were boiled for about three minutes, transferred to ice water to stop the cooking, and then they were cut into three-inch rounds. I stored the scraps of pasta in a bag in the freezer for some future use in which the shape won’t matter. The cut pasta rounds were covered with a damp towel and refrigerated until the other parts of the dish were ready.

This is going to sound like a lot of work, but each step is easy and a lot of things can be prepared in advance if you prefer. Corn was cut from the cob, two cups of raw kernels were set aside, and the rest was roasted until browned in spots. Then, tomatoes were roasted with thyme and olive oil, and I cheated a little here. In the book, large tomatoes are suggested, and they are to be cut into quarters and seeded so that you are left with petal shapes. I used halved cherry tomatoes instead and didn’t seed them. Both of the roasted items could be prepped a day or two ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. Returning to the raw corn kernels, they were cooked with butter and then milk was added. Once the kernels were tender, the corn and milk mixture was pureed in a blender and then strained. A bechamel was made by starting with a roux which was whisked into the strained corn puree. One more element was needed, and that was toasted panko crumbs which were tossed with freshly grated parmigiano. Then, assembly began. Pasta rounds were set on a baking sheet, each was topped with some bechamel, then some roasted corn and roasted tomatoes, then another pasta round, more bechamel, more roasted corn, some of the bread crumb mixture, and then another layer was added. A dribble of water was added to the baking sheet, the stacked lasagnettes were covered with oiled parchment, and the sheet pan was placed in the oven for fifteen minutes. Meanwhile, a simple butter sauce was made by whisking a little butter at a time into warm water in a saucepan over low heat.

To serve, the butter sauce was placed on the plate, a lasagnette was set into the puddle of sauce, and it was garnished with fresh basil. It was all a little fussy, and there were several steps to this preparation, but you can actually build the mini, stacked lasagnas and keep them refrigerated for a full day before heating and serving which makes this a good idea for a dinner party. The stacked towers hold their shape well as the bechamel is thick enough not to ooze out and cause the upper levels to slide. It’s also a ridiculously delicious bechamel with the fresh corn puree. That being said, now that I’ve learned the process for making stable, little, lasagna towers, I’m thinking of other seasonal ingredients to use later in the year. Roasted butternut squash rounds with a parmigiano bechamel comes to mind. Whatever filling you choose, you should try these, and definitely enjoy the opportunity to make your own fresh pasta.

Roasted Asparagus Lasagne

The photos seen here do not adequately convey how good this lasagne was. It was all flavor and no photogenic ability, but this was my favorite thing I’ve eaten for weeks. It was dreamy good and incredibly so given how few ingredients made up each component. For instance, asparagus and parmigiano reggiano are meant to be together. I had wanted to make this lasagne for awhile but waited until I could get asparagus in season. I also waited until I could devote the better part of an afternoon to the many steps involved in making it. This is found in the book On Top of Spaghetti by Johanne Killeen and George Germon which I’ve gushed about a time or two. I had read through all the instructions for the lasagne, had all the ingredients, and was excited to finally get started.

First, I began making the fresh pasta following the recipe for George’s Fresh Pasta on page 212. There is a very specific explanation of how much egg is to be used: two jumbo eggs, weighing four and one-half ounces in their shells, slightly over one-half cup but less than two-thirds cup. Right, so I used two eggs which seemed to be in the acceptable volume range, and I used two cups plus two tablespoons 00 flour as advised. This was mixed in a food processor with salt, and one tablespoon of hot tap water was added at the end. The result was unworkable, dry, hard pasta dough that was soon scooped into the garbage. Rather than admitting defeat and going to buy dried lasagne, I called Kurt and talked him into getting eggs on his way home. I checked Marcella’s recipe which I’ve used before successfully, and her ratio was four eggs to two cups of flour. For pasta dough round two, that’s what I used again with the 00 flour. That worked perfectly and produced beautiful pasta dough but put me an hour and a half behind in the preparation. There was no turning back though.

Two pounds of asparagus were roasted, onions were sauteed. The roasted asparagus was chopped and added to the onions. Milk was simmered with some lemon peel and then used to make the bechamel. All of this transpired while the rolled and cut pasta sheets dried. Said pasta sheets were then briefly boiled, shocked in ice water, and drained on towels. Then, the layering began. A baking dish was sprayed with oil, pasta sheets went into the bottom allowing for them to come up the sides and overhang the dish. Bechamel found its way onto the pasta sheets followed by grated parmigiano reggiano followed by the asparagus onion mixture and some cream. This was repeated with more pasta sheets that fit inside the ones overhanging. Once all the layers were in place, the overhanging sheets were tucked over top, and the remaining bechamel and cheese were spread about before the top was drizzled with olive oil. And, just before I nearly passed out from hunger, the lasagne went into the oven for about 30 minutes.

Given that this was not a thirty minute meal, and that I faced certain challenges that set me back in my overall scheduling, I was completely incapable of waiting the full five minutes before cutting and serving. Hence, the photos of the plated lasagne clearly depict the wonderful bechamel and cream as it oozed forth from the layers. Even after it sat for several minutes, this wasn’t a lasagne that held its shape when cut. What I can tell you though, is that roasted asparagus and some onion in concert with a simple bechamel, really good parmigiano reggiano, and homemade pasta is more delicious than I can describe. Do make the pasta, with four eggs, and do use the cream, and find a big chunk of time when you can do all of this because like everything else from this book, it was a pure delight to eat.