Dans La Cuisine, Episode 1

I thought it would be fun to post about my cooking adventures. I was inspired by this blog. My photography isn't nearly as cool as hers (indoor photography is the bane of my existence!) but I'm a pretty good cook and I like coming up with my own recipes.

On tonight's menu:

Fresh Vegetarian Lasagna

You know the frozen lasagna you can get at the grocery store? This is the exact opposite of that. With so many fresh ingredients, it's light but full of flavor.

Ingredients:
1 box lasagna, uncooked
8 medium tomatoes, diced
1 small red onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 big handful fresh basil, chopped
1 small handful (don't you love the exactness of my measurements?) fresh oregano, chopped
12 oz ricotta cheese (part skim is fine)
1 c sour cream
16 oz fresh mozzarella
Parmiggiano Reggiano
olive oil
salt

1) Preheat oven to 350˚F. Combine the tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, oregano, and about 1/2 c olive oil. Salt to taste. It will look like a fresh tomato salad - resist the urge to eat it right then and there.


2) Combine the ricotta and sour cream. (No photo of this stage because I forgot the sour cream at the grocery store. It's fine without it, but I like it because it adds an extra smoothness to the filling.) Add salt if needed.

3) Spread half the tomato mixture in a layer on the bottom of a 13x9 pan. Place lasagna noodles on top, overlapping the edges.


3) On top of the pasta layer, spread a layer of ricotta and then slices of fresh mozzarella on top.



4) Spread the rest of the tomato mixture over the cheese, then cover with more pasta. Spread the rest of the ricotta and mozzarella on top of the pasta. Sprinkle grated parmiggiano reggiano over all the other cheese, then drizzle with olive oil.



5) Cover with foil and bake at 350˚F for about 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes, until lasagna is lightly browned and bubbly.

This is a fun recipe to improvise. I've tried different vegetables (spinach, broccoli, shredded carrot) and different cheeses (chèvre, Camembert, provolone) and it always turns out delicious.

Here's the finished product. On the side is a simple cucumber salad with onion, olive oil and a bit of balsamic vinegar.