Tell me which self-proclaimed-kitchen-goddess doesn’t dream of making fresh pasta. Well, moi aussi.
But this post is not about fresh pasta. This is about fresh lasagna, the easier one of the lot!
Couple of days ago, a friend invited a bunch of us, girlfriends over for lasagna in the evening. The evening was fun, full of laughter, conversation and great food. And I sat there and marveled as she counted her recipe of making fresh lasagna sheets. So simple, and I hadn’t tried it yet!
I got to work the same weekend, knead the flour for the sheets, got into a panic attack and made some frantic calls to her. She graciously helped me through the various steps of this lasagna, and decomposed the recipe for me, which is what I shared below.
By the time we finally finished the assembling and baking and sat down to ate it, I had a feeling of huge accomplishment.
I had made my first fresh pasta! Yippee! :-D
How to make fresh Vegetarian Lasagna – Inclusive of all steps
How to make a simple marinara sauce
Level - Medium
Time to prepare - 30 min
Ingredients
Tomatoes - 6, diced
Onion - 4 , medium, diced
Olive oil - 1 Tbsp
Garlic cloves - 7-8
Salt - To taste
Herbs like Oregano, Sage, Dill - To taste, Optional
Instructions
Heat the oil in a pan, and sauté the onions and garlic in it till the onions turn golden brown.
Add the diced tomatoes to this, and sauté till the tomatoes are cooked and the water in them evaporates.
Let it cool.
Once cooled, using a hand blender or a mixer, blend the ingredients to get a sauce like consistency.
How to make Pesto sauce
Recipe shared on this blog here
Level - Easy
Time to prepare - 15 min, excluding the time taken to wash the basil leaves
Ingredients
Basil leaves - 250 gm, washed and cleaned
Vegan parmesan cheese - 2-3 Tbsp
Olive oil - 3 Tbsp, or more as required
Garlic - 8-10 cloves
Salt - To taste
Instructions
Grind or mince all the ingredients together.
I use a mixer for this, and pour water if required, so as to not increase the oil intake.
How to make fresh Lasagna sheets
Level - Medium
Makes six 6inch long sheets, approximately
Ingredients
Whole wheat flour - 1 Cup
Water - as required
Salt - To taste
Red chili flakes - 1 Tbsp
Herbs like oregano and sage - 1 Tbsp
Instructions
Mix all the ingredients together adding water in between to form a dough.
Make 6 equal sized balls of the dough.
Using a smooth flat surface and rolling pin, make long sheets with the dough. You might need to add some dry dough ,if required to make the sheet dry.
Heat a flat pan and slightly toast the flat sheet of dough, just enough to ensure that its cooked and will not stick to each other.
Keep aside till the lasagna is ready to be assembled.
To make it easier to understand I’ve laid pictures of all the different steps together here…
Assembling the lasagna
Level - Easy
Serves - 3
Time to cook - 30 min
Ingredients
Lasagna sheets - 3-4
Marinara sauce - 1 Cup
Pesto - 3 Tbsp
Garlic powder - optional, to taste
Mozzarella cheese - 1 Cup, grated
Assorted vegetables - 1 Cup, diced fine
Instructions
Line a deep, thick rectangular glass dish with olive oil.
Place one lasagna sheets one by one by layering them with the marinara sauce, pesto and cheese.
Sprinkle the vegetables if you are using any in one of the layers.
You can sprinkle any herbs, chili flakes or salt on this if you like.
Top this lasagna with grated cheese and bake in a pre-heated oven for 20 min at 200 C
The cue to look for is the bubbling cheese.
Take it out of the oven, let it sit for 10 min and cut large squares of it.
Serve hot.
Some tips
You can prepare the marinara, and pesto sauces beforehand and refrigerate. You can also prepare the lasagna sheets and spread them on a plate till you are ready to assemble. Start assembling 30-40 min before you plan to serve the lasagna. Let the lasagna sit for at least 10 min before you cut it and serve
Use this recipe as a template to make lasagna sheets, and layering. You can use any sauce you like, and any vegetables you want into the lasagna.
Adjust the spice and salt level to anything you want. Change the cheeses, if you like, or omit the cheese altogether.
Enjoy this hearty and healthy meal!
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