Recipe: Fennel and Four Cheese Lasagna
Oh, but I have been missing! I was running a lot, then not running so much. Then, there was Crazy Week, and all bets were off. But when I show up, I usually have something good right? (Yes? Maybe?)
When I was in Ireland, I had a Fennel and Goat Cheese Lasagna at a vegetarian restaurant called Cafe Fresh, and I’ve been wanting to try something like it since then. I wouldn’t be surprised if the very kind owner would send me the recipe if I asked for it. But half the fun is puttering around and trying to figure it all out!
This turned out to be quite different from her recipe, but I really rather like it. I’m gonna give her version another shot, but this is gonna make me happy all week.
Fennel and Four Cheese Lasagna
Half a box of lasagna noodles
1/2 cup of fennel bottoms
Half of a red bell pepper
Nice-sized shallot (baby fist)
5-6 baby portobellos
1 cup of skim ricotta (as fresh as you can get)
1 package of feta cheese (7 ozs.)
1 package of parmesan (about 16 ozs.)
1/4 cup of asiago cheese
2 eggs
Three cloves of garlic
1/2 cup or marinara sauce
A little salt and pepper
Slice the tops off your fennel (save them for later.) Slice the bottoms up pretty fine (finer than I did, even,) and then boil them until they are REALLY tender. Slice the portobellos, the shallot and the red bell pepper and put them aside. Crumble the feta with a fork, and mix it with the ricotta in another bowl. Add half of the parmesan.
Put on your noodles to boil.
When the fennel is tender, drain it and mix it with the cheese. Stir in the other vegetables. Crush your garlic into the bowl and mix well. Add your two eggs and make sure those are also stirred in well.
Grate your Asiago; put that side for now.
I slathered the bottom of my lasagna pan with extra virgin olive oil, then started a layer of noodles. (Word to the wise? Run them under cold water first so you don’t singe your fingers. If that wasn’t obvious, then you might be me.) Add a layer of the ricotta mixture, then another layer of noodles and another layer of the ricotta mixture, followed by a last layer of noodles. I didn’t want this to be really “red,” but I realized that the marinara would help to keep my noodles from drying out. So I carefully spread a layer of the sauce.
Put your pan in the oven and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, to start. While you’re baking, mix the rest of the Parmesan in with the grated Asiago. (And do your dishes and clean up!) After 30 or so minutes, take the pan out, sprinkle the last of the Asiago/Parmesan mixture evenly over the top of your pan, and bake for about another 10 minutes. I had mine with organic lettuce from the co-op, and I am a happy, happy woman.
I always know that I’ve done well when Evil Baby Kitty yowls at the smell like she hasn’t eaten since Christmas. So this must have been pretty good.
And I did hop out to the organic co-op on Sunday to see what I could see. My veggie “dividends” don’t start until September. But I still bought a ton of stuff for a lot less than I would have gotten it at one of the chains. SO happy that greens were in season! I got one bunch of greens, washed them., tore them up, then froze them in four individual bags. That’s good eatin’.
(For my friends with IBS, this is probably way too much cheese. You could try a cheese substitute, but I’d go with one of the rice derivatives.)
