November 28th: Make ahead meal: Vegetarian lasagna (+ Caesar salad & Pfeffernüsse)

Verdict:
Keeper: Pfeffernüsse
Try Again: lasagna & Caesar salad

Tonight we finished up the last of our cook-ahead foods from Cook's Illustrated. After the failed make-ahead manicotti, I wasn't holding out much hope on this one. Oven-ready noodles again, about which I am leery. This one had no ricotta though, but rather lots of mozza and Parm to hold it together, which was promising. It's vegetarian and upon reading the recipe I thought, if I can find a decent vegetarian lasagna to make, I'll be laughing. I have the meat lasagna down to a T, thanks to my parents and their amazing recipe, but haven't found a vegetarian one that can hold its own. So here was the test. I assembled the lasagna a couple weeks ago, froze it, and defrosted it in the refrigerator over two days. I was worried right off the bat when I took a look at it before putting it in the oven. The noodles were already soft. I figured they would end up squishy, just like the noodles in the manicotti did.

And the verdict? Surprisingly good. The noodles didn't seem too squishy, the lasagna had rich taste, and was filling, as only lasagna can be. When I asked G how he felt about the lack of meat, he said he didn't miss it at all. A ringing endorsement, I would say!

Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

5 tbsps olive oil
1 (10 oz) bag spinach, washed, stemmed and chopped
salt and pepper
1 medium onion, minced
1 lb cremini or white button mushrooms, sliced thin
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
2 tbsps chopped fresh basil leaves
12 no-boil lasagna noodles
1 lb mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 4 cups)
3 oz Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add spinach in handfuls and cook, stirring, until spinach is wilted. Season with salt and pepper to taste; transfer spinach to colander. Let cool, then gently squeeze any excess liquid from spinach and transfer to medium bowl.

Wipe pot clean and add 2 more tbsps oil; return pot to medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add mushrooms and cook until golden. Season with salt and pepper to taste; transfer to medium bowl with spinach and set aside.

Add remaining 2 tbsps oil and garlic; return pot to medium heat and cook until garlic is fragrant but not brown, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes; bring to simmer and cook until thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. Stir in basil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour sauce into large measuring cup and add enough water to make 3 1/2 cups.

Spread 1/2 cup sauce evenly over bottom of 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Lay 3 noodles over sauce, making sure they do not touch each other or sides of the dish. Spread 1 cup prepared vegetables evenly over noodles, 2/3 cup sauce evenly over vegetables, and 1 cup mozzarella and 1/3 cup Parmesan evenly over sauce. Repeat layering of noodles, vegetables, sauce and cheeses twice more. For fourth and final layer, lay last 3 noodles over previous layer and top with remaining 1 cup tomato sauce, 1 cup mozzarella and 1/2 cup Parmesan.

TO STORE: Wrap dish tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 1 day or freeze, tightly wrapped with additional layer of foil, for up to 1 month. If frozen, thaw in refrigerator for at least 24 hours before baking.

TO SERVE: Before baking, allow lasagna to sit at room temperature for about 1 hour. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375°F. Remove plastic wrap and wrap dish tightly with foil. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove foil. Return lasagna to oven and continue to bake until cheese is spotty brown and sauce is bubbling, about 15 minutes longer. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

To serve right away, bake as described above, reducing covered baking time to 15 minutes.

Serves 6-8.

To accompany the lasagna, I made a Caesar salad, also from Cook's Illustrated. I intended to put in the required two anchovy fillets, but alas, when I pulled mine out of the depths of the fridge, I discovered the best before date on them was sometime in 2009. It probably suited the vegetarian at the table just fine that I made the Caesar sans fish. I was happy with this recipe. The anchovies likely would have improved the flavour of the dressing, but even without them it was tangy and yummy. The croutons were great; why do we buy them packaged when you can make them easily and they taste so much better?

Caesar Salad

1/2 cup olive oil
2 medium garlic cloves, pressed
1 6-inch piece baguette, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
salt and pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 oz Parmesan, finely grated
2 anchovy fillets, rinsed and patted dry
1 tbsp each lemon juice, white wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard
3 romaine hearts, torn into bite-size pieces, or two 10-oz bags chopped romaine lettuce
2 oz Parmesan, shredded

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350°F. Whisk oil and garlic; reserve half of mixture. Toss bread cubes with remaining oil mixture and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bake croutons on rimmed baking sheet until golden, 15-20 minutes. Cool.

Process mayonnaise, grated Parmesan, anchovies, lemon juice, vinegar, Worcestershire, mustard, 1/2 tsp salt and pepper to taste in blender until smooth. With blender running, slowly add reserved oil mixture until incorporated.

Toss romaine, shredded Parmesan, and dressing in large bowl. Toss in croutons and serve.

Serves 6-8.

The winner for today was the pfeffernüsse. I am doing a cookie exchange with some friends, and these hard little spicy cookies are one of my contributions. The recipe appeared in November 2006's Chatelaine, and I made it once years ago and have meant to again ever since. They're flavourful little bites that make a good accompaniment to a warm beverage.

I can't find the recipe online. Here you go:

Pfeffernüsse

1/2 cup (125 mL) candied lemon or orange peel
1 tbsp (15 mL) all-purpose flour
2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (50 mL) ground almonds
1 tsp (5 mL) each ground cardamom and cinnamon
1/2 tsp (2 mL) each baking soda, nutmeg, allspice and cloves
1/4 tsp (1 mL) each salt and pepper
2 eggs
3/4 cup (175 mL) each granulated sugar and packed brown sugar
1/2 cup icing sugar

In a food processor, whirl 1 tbsp (15 mL) flour with peel until ground. Set aside. In a medium bowl, stir 2 cups (500 mL) flour with almonds, cardamom, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, salt and pepper. (Really, put in a whole 1/4 tsp (1 mL) of pepper!) In a large bowl, beat eggs with granulated and brown sugars, 3 minutes. Gradually beat in flour mixture, then candied peel mixture. Continue beating until mixture begins to form a ball. Remove and press into a ball, then wrap dough in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight to allow flavours to develop.

To bake, arrange oven racks in top and bottom thirds of oven. Preheat oven to 350°F. Pinch off about 1 tbsp (15 mL) dough and roll into a bowl. Place on baking sheet. Continue with remaining dough, spacing balls about 2 inches apart. Bake on 2 racks, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden, 12 to 14 minutes. (Watch them closely!) Remove to a cooling rack.

Meanwhile, place icing sugar in a small bowl. Once cookies are baked and still slightly warm, gently toss in sugar until evenly coated. Place back on cooling rack and cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days or freeze up to 1 month.

Makes 40-50 cookies.