Just when you least expect it, Winter throws you a curve ball. After weeks of spring-like temperatures here in Delaware, suddenly temperatures plummeted last week and it snowed twice in five days. While the snowflakes were lovely to watch floating down, the shoveling aftermath was not fun. Plus, Delaware rarely sees any appreciable snow so many folks were unprepared for the drill. Luckily, I was raised in Northeast Ohio where it snows all winter long, so I was able to fall back on long habits to cope with being snowbound. One of these is on days like that, the most useful thing to do is something cozy. So I hauled out my cookbooks and settled down for an entertaining recipe search followed by some serious cooking experimentation. I started with Italian recipes of course. One can’t go wrong with these, especially Italian baked dishes.
Lasagna has always been a favorite casserole and that’s where my search finally centered. I was intrigued by the “Saturday Afternoon Charred Leek Lasagna” featured in Ella Risbridger’s book Midnight Chicken. This book, which we are reading this cycle in the Cook the Books group, offers an interesting twist in that the book revolves around recipes rather than the more common approach where recipes augment a narrative. In any case it was engrossing reading. About lasagna, author Risbridger says, “Lasagna can be party food, picnic food or leftovers, but most of all it is proper comfort food. Done well, it’s both a joy to eat and a joy to cook. It’s endlessly flexible lazy, lovely weekend cooking”. Or great snowbound cooking for that matter. Of her dish she says, her vegetarian approach yields a beautiful result, “with the deep umber of sweet squash, green and gold slivers of charred leaks to temper the sweet with the bitter, all layered with a rich, melty sauce.”
Inspired by her dish, I decided to take somewhat of a different approach to the preparation, preparing individual roll-up portions, while maintaining a primarily vegetarian focus. The result was indeed quintessentially Italian and scrumptious too.
This is my contribution to the current roundup of Cook the Books where reading selections chosen by members of the group provide for inspiring reading paired with inspiring recipes. Our host this cycle is Debra of Elliot’s Eats who we thank so much for coordinating this cycle’s writings.
Lasagna Roll-Ups with Swiss Chard & Mushrooms
Ingredients: 1 lb swiss chard or spinach leaves, stems removed, roughly chopped
8 uncooked lasagna noodles
2 tbs olive oil
2 oz diced pancetta
8 oz cremini mushrooms, diced, or mushrooms of choice
1 medium onion, diced
1 16 oz can chopped tomatoes, drained and 2 tbs tomato paste
2 tsp garlic, diced
4 oz ricotta cheese
2 oz mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated
2 oz Parmesan cheese
1 handful fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Preparation: Set aside a bowl of ice cubes or chopped ice to douse the swiss chard and the pasta after cooking. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil and cook the lasagna noodles till just softened – ~5 minutes. Remove, drain and douse in the ice-cold water. Remove and pat dry. Set aside. In a saucepan, quick cook the swiss chard in a covered pan in a little water till wilted and remove from heat. Also douse in icy water to stop cooking. Remove and pat dry.
Heat olive oil in a medium skillet. Add pancetta and cook till crisp, 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate and crumble when cooled. Then sauté the mushrooms in the same skillet, adding garlic, onion and tomato paste. Season to taste.
To assemble, spread out lasagna noodles on a towel or parchment paper. Lightly oil an 8x8 inch baking dish. Spread the noodles with ricotta cheese, then add swiss chard or spinach in a thin layer. Sprinkle the remaining ingredients evenly atop each noodle. Roll up the noodles from the short side and transfer to the prepared dish, positioning each one upright with the seam against the side of the dish. Sprinkle with the mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Bake until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Remove rolls from dish, cut each one in half vertically and arrange on plates. Serve with a fresh green salad.
