Thread: Industrial Strength Lasagna, Modified

"Nunya Bidnits" <> wrote > There's no other way to describe it. I haven't
made one of these for a while
> but it's going to happen tonight, with some compromises.
>
> I always liked a very hearty lasagna with non-traditional ingredients like
> sausage, prosciutto and vegetables. I used to stack my Industrial Strength
> Lasagna with extra layers of pasta, but I need to be careful about carb
> intake and increase veggie intake these days. In addition to the noodles,
> this modified method is supposed to use ingredents other than pasta cut
> and laid in sheets to serve as the extra "dividing" layers. Based on
> recent tests and cardiologist opinion, it's the carbs I need to worry
> about, not the protein/fat content. So I've been adjusting recipes to
> include less carbs and more veggies and a little more protein.
>
> But I have one question I am unsure about going in, which is whether the
> vegetable layers will really serve to provide moisture to finish cooking
> the pasta while baking, or whether the vegetables will just water out and
> leave me with a soggy dish. Good or bad idea?
>
> Suggestions or comments?
>
> Layers in the lasagna will include
> Whole grain noodles cooked very al dente
> Zucchini and Yellow squash, cut lengthwise into thin:"sheets" and
> parcooked
> Roasted red and/or yellow peppers, cut in strips or "sheets"
> Mushrooms, sliced
> Black olives, chopped
> Prosciutto, thinly sliced
> Ricotta/mozarella/spinach mixture
> Loose cooked Italian sausasge
> Shredded italian cheese mix
> Shredded mozarella
> Shredded and grated Parmesan cheese
> Marinara sauce
>
> Lasagna is cooked only until flexible. Above each noodle layer is a layer
> of squash and/or red pepper, or mushrooms and/or black olives, so that
> moisture given off by the veggies and mushrooms as well as sauce provides
> enough moisture to finish cooking the noodles. The prosciutto is laid over
> the veggies and a meat or cheese layer over that before adding on another
> noodle layer. Actually I am thinking I might just cook up sausage, chopped
> mushrooms, and black olives into a single layer mixture, then maybe
> another veggie layer before the next noodles. .
>
> There's no need to correct my lack of Italian authenticity here. It has
> Italian ingredients, but I make no claims to producing an authentic
> Italian dish. ;-)
>
> MartyB
Sounds really good. Don't know for sure how it will go but it's surely
worth a try. What's in your marinara sauce? Polly

On Dec 6, 12:26*pm, "Nunya Bidnits" <nunyabidn...@eternal-
september.invalid> wrote:
> There's no other way to describe it. I haven't made one of these for a while
> but it's going to happen tonight, with some compromises.
>
> I always liked a very hearty lasagna with non-traditional ingredients like
> sausage, prosciutto and vegetables. I used to stack my Industrial Strength
> Lasagna with extra layers of pasta, but I need to be careful about carb
> intake and increase veggie intake these days. In addition to the noodles,
> this modified method is supposed to use ingredents other than pasta cut and
> laid in sheets to serve as the extra "dividing" layers. Based on recent
> tests and cardiologist opinion, it's the carbs I need to worry about, not
> the protein/fat content. So I've been adjusting recipes to include less
> carbs and more veggies and a little more protein.
>
> But I have one question I am unsure about going in, which is whether the
> vegetable layers will really serve to provide moisture to finish cooking the
> pasta while baking, or whether the vegetables will just water out and leave
> me with a soggy dish. Good or bad idea?
>
> Suggestions or comments?
>
> Layers in the lasagna will include
> Whole grain noodles cooked very al dente
> Zucchini and Yellow squash, cut lengthwise into thin:"sheets" and parcooked
> Roasted red and/or yellow peppers, cut in strips or "sheets"
> Mushrooms, sliced
> Black olives, chopped
> Prosciutto, thinly sliced
> Ricotta/mozarella/spinach mixture
> Loose cooked Italian sausasge
> Shredded italian cheese mix
> Shredded mozarella
> Shredded and grated Parmesan cheese
> Marinara sauce
>
> Lasagna is cooked only until flexible. Above each noodle layer is a layerof
> squash and/or red pepper, or mushrooms and/or black olives, so that moisture
> given off by the veggies and mushrooms as well as sauce provides enough
> moisture to finish cooking the noodles. The prosciutto is laid over the
> veggies and a meat or cheese layer over that before adding on another noodle
> layer. Actually I am thinking I might just cook up sausage, chopped
> mushrooms, and black olives into a single layer mixture, then maybe another
> veggie layer before the next noodles. .
>
> There's no need to correct my lack of Italian authenticity here. It has
> Italian ingredients, but I make no claims to producing an authentic Italian
> dish. *;-)
>
> MartyB

I make an eggplant parm that has a thick sauce made of S &W crushed
tomatoes (6 lb can) and all of the eggplant gets thoroughly cooked .
Just make sure you have 'nuff sauce.

Harriet & critters in not windy Azusa

On Tue, 6 Dec 2011 19:35:23 -0600, "Polly Esther"
<[email protected]> wrote:

> Sounds really good. Don't know for sure how it will go but it's surely
> worth a try. What's in your marinara sauce? Polly

If all you want to do is open a can, Trader Joe's has a crazy good one
- Trader Giotto's Tuscano Marinara Sauce.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

"sf" <> wrote in message > On Tue, 6 Dec 2011 19:35:23 -0600, "Polly Esther"
> wrote:
>
>> Sounds really good. Don't know for sure how it will go but it's surely
>> worth a try. What's in your marinara sauce? Polly
>
> If all you want to do is open a can, Trader Joe's has a crazy good one
> - Trader Giotto's Tuscano Marinara Sauce.
>
Naaaah. I'm okay with Bisquick for biscuits but I have to do my marinara
sauce myself. Probably a serious character flaw. I'll bring it up in
group. Polly

"Nunya Bidnits" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:jbltq8$bss$[email protected]..
> There's no other way to describe it. I haven't made one of these for a
> while but it's going to happen tonight, with some compromises.
>
> I always liked a very hearty lasagna with non-traditional ingredients like
> sausage, prosciutto and vegetables. I used to stack my Industrial Strength
> Lasagna with extra layers of pasta, but I need to be careful about carb
> intake and increase veggie intake these days. In addition to the noodles,
> this modified method is supposed to use ingredents other than pasta cut
> and laid in sheets to serve as the extra "dividing" layers. Based on
> recent tests and cardiologist opinion, it's the carbs I need to worry
> about, not the protein/fat content. So I've been adjusting recipes to
> include less carbs and more veggies and a little more protein.
>
> But I have one question I am unsure about going in, which is whether the
> vegetable layers will really serve to provide moisture to finish cooking
> the pasta while baking, or whether the vegetables will just water out and
> leave me with a soggy dish. Good or bad idea?
>
> Suggestions or comments?
>
> Layers in the lasagna will include
> Whole grain noodles cooked very al dente

very, very al dente.

> Zucchini and Yellow squash, cut lengthwise into thin:"sheets" and
> parcooked

NO! Raw. Sprinkle them with a little salt so they release their moisture.
They contain a LOT of water.

> Roasted red and/or yellow peppers, cut in strips or "sheets"
> Mushrooms, sliced
> Black olives, chopped
> Prosciutto, thinly sliced

YES!

> Ricotta/mozarella/spinach mixture

In a bechamel sauce.

> Loose cooked Italian sausasge
> Shredded italian cheese mix

NO! Reggiano.

> Shredded mozarella

NO! Sliced.

> Shredded and grated Parmesan cheese
> Marinara sauce
>
> Lasagna is cooked only until flexible. Above each noodle layer is a layer
> of squash and/or red pepper, or mushrooms and/or black olives, so that
> moisture given off by the veggies and mushrooms as well as sauce provides
> enough moisture to finish cooking the noodles. The prosciutto is laid over
> the veggies and a meat or cheese layer over that before adding on another
> noodle layer. Actually I am thinking I might just cook up sausage, chopped
> mushrooms, and black olives into a single layer mixture, then maybe
> another veggie layer before the next noodles. .
>

I like to cook the sauce down a bit. I like it fairly dense so I get
minimal water in the final dish. I like a really firm lasagna. I put eggs
in the white sauce with the cheese. Makes a nice firm layer.

> There's no need to correct my lack of Italian authenticity here. It has
> Italian ingredients, but I make no claims to producing an authentic
> Italian dish. ;-)

It's all good.

Paul

Nunya Bidnits <[email protected]> wrote:

> But I have one question I am unsure about going in, which is whether
> the vegetable layers will really serve to provide moisture to finish
> cooking the pasta while baking, or whether the vegetables will just
> water out and leave me with a soggy dish. Good or bad idea?
>
> Suggestions or comments?

Got sidetracked yesterday and didn't get it done so I'm making it for dinner
tonight.

Still not sure about the noodle, doneness, and vegetable question. Noodles
very al-dente and vegetables, uncooked, to provide the remaining moisture
for the noodles? Or everything fully cooked before going in?

MartyB

"Nunya Bidnits" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:jboaa7$i7q$[email protected]..
> Nunya Bidnits <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> But I have one question I am unsure about going in, which is whether
>> the vegetable layers will really serve to provide moisture to finish
>> cooking the pasta while baking, or whether the vegetables will just
>> water out and leave me with a soggy dish. Good or bad idea?
>>
>> Suggestions or comments?
>
> Got sidetracked yesterday and didn't get it done so I'm making it for
> dinner tonight.
>
> Still not sure about the noodle, doneness, and vegetable question. Noodles
> very al-dente and vegetables, uncooked, to provide the remaining moisture
> for the noodles? Or everything fully cooked before going in?

No, nothing fully cooked except the meat. The pasta will finish cooking in
the oven. You are cooking this dish, not heating it up after all. Thinly
sliced zukes will absolutely fall apart if overcooked. They'll just be a
layer of mush. You can even use raw sausage if you cook longer.

On Dec 7, 5:03*pm, "Paul M. Cook" <pmc...@gte.net> wrote:
> "Nunya Bidnits" <nunyabidn...@eternal-september.invalid> wrote in message
>
> news:jboaa7$i7q$[email protected]..
>
> > Nunya Bidnits <nunyabidn...@eternal-september.invalid> wrote:
>
> >> But I have one question I am unsure about going in, which is whether
> >> the vegetable layers will really serve to provide moisture to finish
> >> cooking the pasta while baking, or whether the vegetables will just
> >> water out and leave me with a soggy dish. Good or bad idea?
>
> >> Suggestions or comments?
>
> > Got sidetracked yesterday and didn't get it done so I'm making it for
> > dinner tonight.
>
> > Still not sure about the noodle, doneness, and vegetable question. Noodles
> > very al-dente and vegetables, uncooked, to provide the remaining moisture
> > for the noodles? Or everything fully cooked before going in?
>
> No, nothing fully cooked except the meat. *The pasta will finish cooking in
> the oven. *You are cooking this dish, not heating it up after all. *Thinly
> sliced zukes will absolutely fall apart if overcooked. *They'll just bea
> layer of mush. *You can even use raw sausage if you cook longer.

I'd pre-cook the sausage too. It sounds great except for the pasta
and the squashes.
I'm low carbing too, and wouldn't even consider eating the pasta, and
have zero use
for pasta substitutes like squash.
I don't understand putting mozzarella into the spinach ricotta mix,
but otherwise it
looks great, and the prosciutto is a nice touch if used sparingly.

--Bryan