Overly long blog part: I know recipe blogs have a reputation for telling too long of a story before getting to the recipe, so I’ll keep this short. In 2021 my wife challenged me to develop a recipe. She was also pregnant, so something that froze well and/or made good leftovers was a plus. I was staying with my parents and they had a plethora of farm fresh* veggies and eggs from friends and co-workers, so inspired by the vegetarian lasagna at SoHos at Capital Market in Charleston, WV, combined with my mom’s method, I put together what I think is a pretty fantastic and fresh-tasting veggie lasagna. (This is my first feeble attempt at recipe development, please feel free to share any feedback with me on Twitter @haupt)

  • Estimated time: Some time, like an afternoon

  • Serves: 8

  • Special equipment:

    • Rolling pin

    • Pasta roller (hand cranked or the kind that attaches to a stand mixer)

    • Cheese cloth

  • Ingredients:

    • Noodles (this will make a double batch of pasta dough, the remaining half can be frozen for later):

      • 4 cups semolina, 00, or pasta blend flour plus extra for dusting

      • 4 farm fresh eggs

      • Pinch of kosher salt (~1/2 tsp)

      • Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (~1/2 tsp)

    • Sauce (Adapted from The Complete Book of Pasta and Noodles):

      • 3-4 pounds farm fresh tomatoes (or two 28 ounce cans of whole tomatoes if out of season)

      • 4-6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thin

      • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

      • 1 sprig fresh basil

      • Large pinch of red chile flakes (optional)

    • Filling(s):

      • 1-2 farm fresh zucchini

      • 1-2 farm fresh summer squash

      • 1 cup walnuts

      • Farm fresh basil, roughly torn

      • 1 farm fresh egg

    • Cheese(s):

      • 1 pound of low moisture whole milk mozzarella

      • 5 ounces grated parmesan cheese

      • Homemade ricotta (this will make more than you need, and it’s very good but will only keep for a few days in the fridge after making. Adapted from Vancouver Island Sea Salt):

        • 7.5 cups whole milk

        • 0.5 cup heavy cream

        • 1.5 tsp sea salt

        • 3 tsp nigari (a magnesium chloride brine that is the byproduct of making salt)

  • Method(s):

    • Make some noodles

      • 1. On a clean work surface put the 4 cups of flour into a mound and make a large depression at the top of the mound

      • 2. Gently add 4 eggs, a pinch of salt, and a drizzle of olive oil to the depression

      • 3. Using a fork, gently whisk the eggs and slowly incorporate the flour

      • 4. Once the wet ingredients are incorporated enough start to knead the dough by hand. Knead until a firm, tacky dough forms. If dough seems dry add a little water (~1 tsp) at a time until fully hydrated (if you’ve already made the ricotta you can use the leftover whey here).

      • 5. When done needed, divide the dough ball in half and form each half into a rough square. Wrap each square in plastic wrap, put one in the fridge. The other half is extra and can be frozen if you’re not planning to use it within a few days.

      • 6. Let dough rest for at least 30 minutes

      • 7. Once rested, lightly dust a clean work surface with flour and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough until it’s thin enough to fit into the widest setting on your pasta roller

      • 8. Starting on the widest setting, begin feeding the dough into the pasta roller to form sheets. Sheets can be cut in half if they start to get unwieldy (ultimate goal is 13 inch long sheets). You want to go fairly thin, about a 5 on the pasta roller I used. Optionally you can trim the ends off of the noodles to make them more rectangular.

      • 9. Set sheets on a drying rack until ready to assemble

    • Make some sauce

      • 1a. If using a gas stove: set tomatoes over the open flame of the stove top and turn using long tongs until the skin is blacked and blistered on all sides.

      • 1b. If using an electric stove: bring a pot of water to a boil and drop the tomatoes into the water for about 30 seconds or until starting to split

      • 2. Using a paring knife, core the tomatoes and then peel off the skin (doesn’t have to be perfect)

      • 3. Roughly chop the tomatoes

      • 4. In a sauce pot or enameled Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium high heat

      • 5. One the oil is hot add the garlic and stir, let sizzle until very lightly browned (at this point add the chile flakes to the oil, if using)

      • 6. Add the chopped tomatoes along with all the juices from the cutting board, add the basil sprig and about a cup of water (if using canned tomatoes, use the water to rinse the can and then add it, and roughly mash the whole tomatoes with a potato masher once in the pot)

      • 7. Bring to a simmer then turn down the heat too keep at a simmer for about 30 minutes

      • 8. Remove the basil sprig and add salt to taste. Set aside until ready to assemble.

    • Make some cheese(!)

      • 1. Add milk and cream to a pot and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirred often to prevent milk from scorching on the bottom of the pot

      • 2. Don’t look away, everyone knows that the second you look away from milk on the stove it foams up and boils over.

      • 3. Once the milk starts to foam, wait until the milk just reaches the lip of the pot and then turn off the heat (if using an electric stovetop, you may want to move the pot off of the burner)

      • 4. Add the salt and nigari and stir gently with a slotted spoon to distribute. The curds and whey should start to separate immediately.

      • 5. Cover the pot and let sit for 10 minutes

      • 6. Using the slotted spoon, scoop the curds out of the pot into a cheesecloth lined strainer (if the remaining whey is still milky/cloudy, bring the liquid back to a boil and add another 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of nigari for a second coagulation, let sit for 5 minutes and then scoop out the second round of curds). The remaining whey can be used as water for the pasta dough, if needed (see above).

      • 7. Let drain for at least 15 minutes

      • 8. Set aside 3 cups of ricotta for the lasagna, the rest is leftover and can be kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container for a few days (we used it to make this salad, which was tasty)

    • Toast some nuts

      • 1. Toast the walnuts in a toaster oven or in a hot pan (be careful not to burn them)

      • 2. Chop the nuts and set aside until ready to assemble

    • Mise en place the filling

      • 1. Trim the ends off of the zucchini and summer squash. Then cut each in half through the middle (see photos below), and slice into 1/4 inch thick planks.

      • 2. Put planks on a wire rack and salt them to draw out some of the moisture. Let continue to drain until ready to assemble.

      • 3. Take the 3 cups of ricotta and in a large bowl whip in 1 egg plus salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (if you’re comfortable tasting something with raw eggs). Final mixture should be very creamy, add another egg if its look dry/crumbly.

      • 4. Slice the mozzarella into 1/4 inch thick pieces or tear into rough pieces

    • ASSEMBLE

      • 1. Coat a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with nonstick spray, then ladle in a thin layer of sauce to coat the bottom

      • 2. Add a layer of noodles lengthwise, shingle slightly if needed for maximum coverage

      • 3. Add a layer of zucchini and summer squash perpendicular to the noodles

      • 4. Spread a layer of the ricotta mixture on top of the zucchini and squash

      • 5. Top ricotta mixture with walnuts, parmesan, torn pieces of mozzarella, and torn basil

      • 6. Add another layer of sauce.

      • 7. Repeat steps 2-6, until out of ingredients or at the top of the baking dish.

      • 8. Finish with layer of walnuts, parmesan, mozzarella, and basil. Can add a few dollops of sauce if any is left.

      • 9. Drizzle with olive oil and freshly ground black pepper. Lasagna can be refrigerated or frozen and this stage if not ready to bake yet.

    • Bake

      • 1. Preheat an oven to 375° F

      • 2. Bake the lasagna for 30-40 minutes or until the top if GBD (golden brown and delicious). You can put the baking dish on a sheet pan to prevent dripping. Line the sheet tray with aluminum foil for easier cleanup. If the top is threatening to burn, cook on a lower rack in the oven and/or cover with a layer of aluminum foil to prevent burning.

    • Serve

      • 1. Let cool until nearly room temp, slice, and serve with extra parmesan and red pepper flakes.

      • 2. Like every lasagna in history, this will be better the next day, so get excited for leftovers!

Some photos:

*When I use “farm fresh” in the recipe this designates something we had on had that was farm fresh, but store bought produce will still make a delicious lasagna

Last updated: 29 December 2021

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