(Serves 4- 6 people)
Having a few friends over for dinner? This is the sort of thing you can bang together and whack in the oven very easily. At first glance it looks daunting but after making it for the first time you will see just how easy it actually is.
Also a perfectly light and nutritious lunch, it has been a hit every time I have made it, for vegetarians and carnivores, alike.
INGREDIENTS
½ a packet of wholemeal instant Lasagne pasta sheets or fresh pasta (Note that some egg noodles need to be cooked first).
600 ml of napolitana pasta sauce (bought or homemade)
100 g parmesan cheese
100 g shredded tasty or mozzarella cheese
250 g ricotta cheese
¼ small peeled pumpkin
2 handfuls of washed, baby spinach leaves (or roughly chopped silver beet)
½ a thinly sliced eggplant
2 zucchini (thinly sliced lengthways)
½ bunch of fresh basil leaves (or 3 dessertspoons of pesto)
20 pitted Kalamatha olives
250 g semi dried tomatoes
½ bunch fresh rosemary
Salt and cracked black pepper
METHOD
1. Peel the pumpkin and slice it into thin pieces. Cover with water in a pan and blanch till just soft and drain.
2. Next, you will need a 20 cm square casserole or baking dish. Preferably one that can go from the oven to the dining table. Start by pouring 200g of the Napolitana pasta sauce in the bottom of it and spread evenly.
3. Place 3-4 sheets of lasagne on top of the sauce. Break the corners of the pasta if necessary to fit flat in the dish.
4. Spread the drained cooked pumpkin evenly over the pasta with a spoon and push down firmly. Then sprinkle with the parmesan cheese.
5. Now another layer of 3-4 pasta sheets and cover with another 200 g of Napolitana pasta sauce.
6. Cover evenly with the spinach or silver beet and then the ricotta cheese.
7. Then another layer of lasagne sheets and the rest of the pasta sauce.
8. Evenly sprinkle with the tasty cheese or mozzarella and the fresh basil leaves.
9. Set aside 6 olives and 6 pieces of semidried tomatoes for garnish and sprinkle the rest over the top of the basil.
10. Slice the eggplant into very thin rounds and place them on top and sprinkle with a little salt.
11. Slice the zucchini thinly lengthways and overlap them as the final layer. Make sure this layer looks nice and tidy. Sprinkle with cracked pepper and fresh rosemary. Cover with aluminium foil and place in a hot oven (240 C or 500 F) for about an hour.
12. After about 45 minutes pierce the foil with a small paring knife to let a little of the steam out and also to test to see if the pasta is cooked. If it is hard to pierce all the way to the bottom, return it to the oven until cooked.
13. When cooked, remove the foil carefully and allow the steam to escape, without burning yourself.
Home-made Napolitana Pasta sauce
Our supermarket has a whole aisle dedicated to this humble pasta sauce. This is ironic as it is extremely easy to make, having said that, it is also a matter of taste and convenience. This versatile sauce is the base for many recipes and here is my secret…
I firmly believe that the tomatoes must be grown and tinned in Italy. There is something authentic about their flavour that can’t be substituted for in Italian cooking.
METHOD
1. Place tinned tomatoes in a heavy saucepan. If necessary crush them a little with your clean hands.
2. Add a little sugar, salt, olive oil & crushed garlic (optional).
3. Add a little fresh basil and/or oregano leaves, depending on the flavour you wish to achieve. I generally use fresh basil when I want a more delicate and slightly sweet flavour to my sauce. Sometimes I like to use oregano to give it a sharper and more traditional taste.
4. Simmer slowly, stirring occasionally until the flavours and aromas are ‘just right’.
Absolutely Vegilicious!
Decorate the top with the 6 olives & 6 semi dried tomatoes, previously set aside and some fresh rosemary sprigs and serve with salad greens.
Note…..left overs are easier to cut when cold from the fridge and perfect to reheat in the microwave or oven for 2-3 days afterwards.
Steve Anderssen
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