Bechamel Sauce

Bechamel sauce is a white sauce that will serve as a base for cheese sauce, garlic sauce, herb sauce, etc. This is the white sauce used in the Spring Vegetable Lasagna recipe.

Ingredients:
2 TBSP butter of margarine
2 TBSP all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash o' black pepper
1 1/2 cups milk

Directions
In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper. Stir in the milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly, stir for one minute more. (It takes about 5 minutes to start feeling it thicken)

Spring Vegetable Lasagna

3:30 AM Good Morning!

Apparently drinking supple amounts of diet coke at the mexican restaurant last night was a bad idea. No worries, I have been asleep until about an hour ago, but now I am wide eyed and ready for the day. I was having an awkward monologue (seemed more like a dialogue) in bed, you know the one where you are arguing with yourself to go back to sleep, and then you can't sleep because you are arguing with yourself. So what did I think would be a good way to start the day at this hour... oh just write up a quick spring vegetable lasagna recipe on the interweb. I am sure I will be regretting this at 5 tonight when I am still sitting in class.

About a year and a half ago before I was brave enough to do any exploring in the kitchen, a sweet friend of mine, Eli, gave me the cookbook of a locally renowned chef, Frank Stitt's Bottega Favorita: A Southern Chef's Love Affair With Italian Food. The subtitle is the perfect descriptor for what you will find in the pages of this book. His risotto recipes will take you to Venice yet his macaroni is something that could only have been concocted with a southern spoon. I have been so excited about using Frank's recipes but have honestly been a bit intimidated to try them. For the past few months I would flip through the pages, looking at the savory flavors that I thought were too fancy for my kitchen. But au contraire, last weeks grocery menu brought me to this cookbook, and to my first Frank recipe..... Spring Vegetable Lasagna.



Be forewarned that as Frank mentions in his book, this meal was a labor of love, one that his grandmother would prepare all Sunday for a family meal. So of course..... I thought this would be a good one to start at, let's say 6 pm. If anything, prepare the vegetables ahead of time. It is the most time consuming part.

And..... for all of those skeptics.... this received the Hudson stamp of approval! So get your chopping blocks ready, your roux stirring and enjoy!!





Note: This is my interpretation/ version of this lasagna, I know I shouldn't mess with perfection, but I tweaked some things to my liking. I did not purchase all Frank's ingredients because some of them were such small amounts of expensive spices, but I encourage you to go for it to get the full effect. I also used my own concoction of cheeses so I wouldn't have to buy so gourmet, and it was still good!

Ingredients:
1/2 pound lasagna noodles (use wheat if you want to be super healthy about it)
3 TBSP olive oil
3 zucchini, trimmed and thinly sliced (whip out that mandoline if you have one)
Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 TBSP unsalted butter
2 Vidalia onions
1 leek, light green and white parts thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 TBSP finely sliced chives
Pinch of cayenne
2 cups bechamel sauce
1 lb fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1/3 cups grated Fontina
1/3 freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/3 cup grated pecorino romano.

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 F.
2. Bring salted water to a boil and add lasagna noodles. Follow directions on package
3. Drain noodles and toss in oil to prevent sticking.
4. Place zucchini slices in one layer on a baking sheet, brush with olive oil. Salt and pepper. Put in oven for 5 minutes. Remove and bring heat down to 350 F. Set aside
5. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, leek, and garlic. Saute until soft, about five minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside
6. Boil peas according to package instructions. Drain. Put in food processor and puree. Set aside
7. In a separate bowl, combine the ricotta, lemon zest, chives, and cayenne and season with a little salt and pepper. Set aside
8. Get your game face on.... it's time to assemble!!
9. Spray 13x9 pan.... or your favorite baking dish. Place a layer of noodles on the bottom, then a third of the ricotta mixture, a third of the onion-leek mixture, pea puree, and zucchini. Top off the layer with a third of the roux. Repeat with two more layers of noodles, ricotta, onion-leek mix, pea, and zucchini. Salt and pepper in between. On top put a layer of mozzarella slices and sprinkle with the grated cheeses.
10. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the the cheese is melted and turning a light brown. Frank wants you to let the lasagna rest for 30 minutes before serving.... I guess it's worked really hard? This will give you plenty of time to clean up the huge mess you have made :)

Onions.... A love-hate relationship

Onions make everything better, sauteed they will add flavors to any dish. But this flavor does come at a price. Whenever a recipe calls for onion I cringe at the thought of crying in my kitchen, smearing mascara all over my face, and blowing my nose. Not to mention this is not good culinary hygiene. So does anyone have any tips for preventing the crying factor? My sister recommended snacking on a piece of bread which slicing and dicing. The last dish I did required 2 onions. TWO! So..... I resorted to this:



The full snorkel mask that I used on our cruise doubled as the perfect weapon in the kitchen. Bring it on onions

Baked Eggplant with Swiss

If you have never tried eggplant before, then this is a good way to try it..... and you will be so proud of yourself when you do. If you are a picky eater I can honestly tell you that this reminds me of a grilled cheese. Don't believe me.... try it yourself.



Ingredients:

1 Eggplant
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Swiss or Fontina Cheese

Directions: Preheat your oven to 350 F. Slice eggplant lengthwise into quarter inch slices. Drizzle both sides of each side with olive oil, place on baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Place in oven for 10 minutes. Take out and add strips of cheese. Put back in oven for two minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and enjoy.

Other ideas: Try adding some rosemary

A Peek Ahead

This week is full of promises in the kitchen realm. Just to keep you wondering about what's to come, tonight I bought a leek and an eggplant. I have never cooked with these produce items let alone eaten them (I hate admitting that to my foodie friends).





Also, just a heads up for anyone who has grocery shopping in their near future. Publix has a deal on Kashi frozen entrees. They will sell you 4 for 10$ (expires Tue/Wed). Tonight Hudson and I each had the southwest chicken entree. We added some shredded cheese, lime juice and tortilla chips..... bringing each of our suppers to a whopping 2.50$ each.



Click here to see the different Kashi entree options.