Friday, March 17, 2006
Vegetable Lasagna
I've got a new project going at work, which consists of compiling endless lists of websites on different topics. I thought I knew a fair bit about the Internet and quite a lot about life, but before I started this, I was only marginally aware of the large number of sick idiots out there. The amount of websites dedicated to declaring the supremacy of certain people (more often than not what they call "the white race" whatever that is meant to be), to degrading the weak (mostly women and children), to getting people to worship gods by parting with large chunks of money or to instructing others
on breaking any and every law ever written is astounding. And it dwarfs that of websites that aim to achieve the opposite. I am all for freedom of speech, so please don't take this to mean that I want these sites to be taken offline. I just don't understand what's going on in the minds of the people who compile them. Or rather, I'm not sure they even have any minds at all. In fact, I'm fairly sure that they were hiding when god distributed brains among his newest creation.Needless to say, after having spent the day in the virtual presence of such scum, I was not in as good a mood as I like to be when I come home. I managed to rid myself of some anger in traffic, not the safest place to do it, but it had to come out somewhere. I can hardly phone up some stupid American wannabe Nazi and call him names over the phone. But the weirdest ones are probably the Russian Hitler worshippers. As a colleague of mine who is part Russian pointed out: Do they really think that their idol would have felt any different about them than about the rest of their countrymen? Definitely not, which to me is proof enough that one of the prerequisite to becoming a Nazi (neo or otherwise) is lack of brains.
"So what has any of this got to do with food?" I hear you ask. To which I can only reply: "Absolutely nothing." But it has a something to do with the dinner I made tonight. It created the framework for my evening mood, which in turn has a direct influence on the food I cook.
For the tomato sauce:I suppose you could buy either of the sauces to turn this into a quick, easy to assemble dish. You could use Bolognese instead of the vegetable sauce to make the dish more substantial. And, obviously, you could serve it with a side salad, in which case this recipe is enough for up to four people. Or you could double the quantites and feed a whole family. Lasagne is also great when you've got company, because you can pre-prepare and assemble it before they arrive and stick it in the oven while you attend to your guests. But whatever you do, always remember that lasagne needs to be made with love. If you put you heart into it, lasagne somehow has the ability to make you feel ... how shall I put it? ... at home, on holiday and surrounded by friends and family, all at once. In short, it can be the ultimate comfort food.
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
enough vegetables to make up a chunky sauce (mushrooms, zucchini, aubergines, spinach, leeks, carrots and bell peppers all work well), cleaned and sliced
2 tsp fresh oregano, chopped (or 1 tsp dried)
2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped (or 1 tsp dried)
100 ml red wine
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato purée
½ tbsp sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Béchamel sauce:
1½ tbsp butter
1½ tbsp flour
375 ml milk
salt and pepper to taste
For the lasagne:
4 to 5 lasagne plates
1½ tbsp fresh basil pesto
1 buffalo mozzarella, thinly sliced (alternatively as much grated cheese as you like)
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Bring water to the boil in a large saucepan. Add a good pinch of salt, then add the lasagne plates. Cook, boiling rapidly, until tender. Drain and set aside (in a single layer to prevent sticking).
In another large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Gently fry the chopped onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the vegetables and fry for a few minutes until softened. Add the oregano and thyme and deglaze with the wine. Bring to the boil. Now add the tomatoes, tomato purée and sugar. Bring to the boil again and cook, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes, to give the flavours a chance to blend and to soften the vegetables. Then season to taste with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile prepare the Béchamel sauce. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly for 2 to 3 minutes. Then pour in the milk. Stir well, then bring to the boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes over a gentle heat, until thickened. Add more milk if the sauce appears too gooey.
Lightly grease a small ovenproof dish. Cover the bottom with a layer of Béchamel sauce followed by lasagne plates and another layer of Béchamel sauce. Finally, put in a layer of vegetable sauce. Repeat these layers ending with a layer of cream sauce. Stir in the pesto and cover with the cheese. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, by which time the cheese should be bubbling and golden.
Christine at 9:58 pm
