“You Must Be Mad” Scientist’s Lasagna
Contributed by Jodi M. aDigitalAngel
“You Must Be Mad” Scientist’s Lasagna (Savory Acorn Squash & Sweet Oregano/Sage sauce with Crispy Arugula)
TOTAL TIME cook & prep about 2 hours.
Pots, Pans, Plates & Bowls:
1. 1 Lasagna pan
2. 1 Decent sized Frying pan (for veggies)
3. 2 Sauce Pans (one for Arugula & one for Cream Sauce)
4. (if you’re roasting your own squash, another Lasagna or Cookie sheet)
5. Cutting board & knives
6. Ladle
7. Sieve ladle or slotted spoon
8. Rubber Spatula
9. Two Medium bowls (one for tofu & the other for squash)
10. Large Plate with Paper towel & salt at the ready (for placing Arugula)
11. For serving -Flat bottom serving bowls or deep plates (or equivalent)
Noodles:
1. Ready to Bake Lasagna Noodles actually work pretty well but Fresh is always better. You’ll need 6-12 depending on your pan size depth/noodle brand. A standard 9 X 13 porcelain pan is good with 9 wide noodles 3 layers. This recipe uses the ready bake lasagna (it’s efficient- kind of like code reuse right?)
Squash Mixture:
1. 2 Fresh Acorn Squash (canned works, but fresh is best)– deseeded, peeled & roasted with olive oil/salt/pepper, use whatever method you prefer.
2. 4-6 Tablespoons Pecans (Chopped)
3. Sea Salt & Black Pepper to taste (optional)
Veggie Concoction:
1. 10-14 Large Crimini Mushrooms (Sliced)
2. 1 Medium White Onion (Chopped)
3. 4-8 Roasted Sweet Red Peppers (Sliced or Chopped)
Not Really Ricotta Cheese (it’s Tofu! Taste tested that non-vegetarians don’t even know!):
1. 1 12 oz Package Tofu (I love Mori Nu Extra Firm for this)
2. 6 Tablespoons Cottage Cheese (Omit for Vegan)
3. ½ cup grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese (Omit for Vegan- Vegan Parma substitute works ok)
4. 1 cup Grated Pendavaris or a Reggiano cheese of your choice (do not combine with other ingredients- rice or soy cheese works ok here too)
5. 1 tsp Sea Salt (a little more if using Coarse)
6. 1 tsp garlic salt
Sweet Oregano & Sage Cream:
1. 2 Cups 2% Milk (substitute soy for Vegan, but be careful it doesn’t turn to glue)
2. 8 Fresh Sage Leaves (do not chop so they can be taken out if people like when served)
3. 4 Tablespoons Fresh Oregano (Chopped really small- or you can leave whole and remove later)
4. 1 Tablespoon “Better Than Bullion” Mushroom Soup base
5. 1-2 Tablespoon Organic sugar (optional if you prefer savory only)
6. 1 tsp ground nutmeg
7. 1 pinch of cinnamon (optional if you prefer savory only)
Crispy Arugula:
1. 1 package or bunch Fresh Arugula
2. Sea Salt
3. Olive Oil
Directions:
Prepare the Lasagna Pan:
1. Coat the bottom with Margarine or Olive oil (Move over Butter is awesome) so veggies won’t burn.
2. Preheat oven to 400
Make Cream Sauce:
1. Cook the milk & mushroom soup on low heat, stirring occasionally.
2. Once it starts to get a skin, add in the other ingredients.
3. After few minutes, turn down the heat a bit more. Keep it on the heat uncovered for the duration of your cook time (don’t let it all evaporate though). This cream does not need to get very thick, if at all.
Cook the Veggies:
1. With a little olive oil, sauté the Onion & Mushrooms in a Frying Pan.
2. When Onions are almost clear, add the red pepper.
3. After a minute or two, take off of heat & set aside.
Make the Squash Spread:
1. Mash the roasted Squash in a bowl
2. Stir in Pecans at the end. Set aside.
Prepare the Tofu Cheese:
1. Combine all ingredients (except Pendavaris Cheese) listed in a bowl & stir/mash until it looks like Ricotta. Set Aside.
Build the Lasagna (In your Oiled Pan):
1. Put in a layer of the Veggie Concoction. Make sure you have at least half left.
2. Cover with single layer of Lasagna Noodles
3. Spread half the Squash Mixture on Noodles
4. Spread half Tofu Mixture over Squash
5. Layer with Noodles
6. Continue with layering as you have ingredients, however, your final (Top) layer is Noodles with just the Tofu Cheese, no squash or veggies.
7. Sprinkle on the Pendavaris Cheese.
8. Cover Lasagna with foil & bake. After 20 minutes to half hour take out and pour one ladle of cream sauce over lasagna. Bake 15 more minutes. Remove foil & bake another 10 minutes or so. (to crisp top a bit).
Crisp the Argula (While Lasagna is Baking)
1. DeStem Arugula (optional if you don’t have time)
2. In Medium Sauce pan pour in enough Olive or Smart Oil to make about 2-3 inches deep. Heat on Medium heat until when you put in the tip of a chopstick tiny bubbles form around it the bottom.
3. Drop Arugula in oil by the handful, cooking one handful at a time. Be careful! You’ll want to stand back pretty quickly as it will sputter & spit quite a bit.
4. You’ll know the arugula is ready to be taken out when it stops spitting too much, there are few bubbles in the leaves themselves and is a darker/bright green.
5. Using Slotted spoon/ladle put each bunch of Arugula on a plate with paper towels & salt to taste right away. It will get crispy as it cools & melts in your mouth when you eat it!
Put all the pieces together!
1. Use a shallow flat bottom bowl or deep plate for serving.
2. Place a piece of lasagna on a plate.
3. Ladle some of the cream over lasagna.
4. Top lasagna with some crispy arugula.
5. Sprinkle on black pepper, more pecans or asiago if you like.
Whew your done!
Geek note:
There are a ton of textures, cooking methods and flavors going on here, I love this dish. While it’s kind of labor intensive, it’s worth it.
The crispy arugula is a bit of a mad scientist operation- you throw in a handfull at a time, stand back & watch it go crazy! Once out of the oil it will become crispy yet melt in your mouth.
The Tofu is a work of reaction magic because even non-vegetarians don’t believe it’s tofu.
