lasagne with spinach and picada
March 3, 2012
My mom used to make lasagne with a veggie tomato sauce when I was little – this recipe is inspired by my memories of coming home to the smell of this quintessential comfort food baking in the oven. Of course her’s was doused in cheese. Mine is packed full of spinach with a garlicy picada crumble on top. It was my daughter, Rebekah, who both reminded me of that childhood favourite, and helped me come up with this new version. Those powerful food memories must run thick in the blood!
Tomato Vegetable Sauce
4 tbsps olive oil
2 onions, chopped finely
6 medium carrots, grated
6 celery stalks, grated
3 medium zucchini, grated
large handful enoki mushrooms
6 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup red wine
6 cups stewed tomatoes
1/4 cup tomato paste
basil, thyme, parsley, chopped
1 tbsp organic cane sugar
sea salt and pepper
Béchamel sauce
8 tsps olive oil
4 tbsps flour
2 cups rice or soy cream
pinch nutmeg
sea salt and pepper
Picada
1/2 cup almonds, toasted
2 slices white country-style bread
4 cloves garlic
sea salt
Plus
1 bunch of spinach, cleaned
1 package lasagne sheets
To make the sauce, heat olive oil in a heavy-bottom pot or dutch oven. Add the onions and sauté until they start to turn translucent. Add grated carrots, celery, zucchini, and mushrooms. Sauté until beginning to get soft, 3 – 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until aromatic, about another 2 minutes.
Add the red wine and let simmer until reduced by about half. Add stewed tomatoes and the tomato paste. Bring to a boil. Add chopped herbs, sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Turn down the heat and let simmer for about 30 minutes. Set aside for the flavours to meld.
Meanwhile, to make the béchamel sauce, heat the olive oil in a small pot on medium-high heat. Add the flour and stir until well blended. Let the mixture bubble away for a few minutes, stirring often so that it doesn’t burn. After 2 or 3 minutes, slowly add the rice or soy cream. It will immediately thicken as you add the first drops of cream. Add slowly and stir constantly until the sauce is smooth and well-blended. Turn down the heat and let simmer until thickened. Add a few pinches of nutmeg, sea salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
For the picada, toast the almonds in an oven at 350F until they’re pale gold, 8 – 10 minutes. Remove and set aside. Meanwhile, slowly fry slices of white country-style bread in 2 tbsps olive oil until golden on both sides, or toast well in a toaster. Place the grilled bread or toast, almonds, 4 large garlic cloves and pinch of salt in a food processor to make a crumbly paste. Set aside.
Wash the spinach. Cook the lasagne sheets in boiling water, about 3 or 4 sheets at a time making sure they don’t stick to one another. Do not cook al dente, you want them to be a little underdone (4 – 5 minutes should do the trick). As they cook, set them on a clean tea towel until you’re ready to use them.
Once all the components are ready, start to build your lasagne. In a large baking dish, start with a layer of tomato sauce, add a layer of spinach, then a layer of pasta. Next add a layer of béchamel sauce, a layer of spinach, then a layer of pasta. Repeat until all the ingredients are done ending with a layer of béchamel sauce at the top.
Bake in an oven at 400F for 30 minutes. Broil under high heat for another 3 minutes or so until top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with a generous amount of picada. Serve piping hot next to a crispy green salad.
picada
February 20, 2010
This recipe comes from Deborah Madison. She suggests making it in association with the Potato Chickpea Stew but it’s great on soups, other stews, or as a thickener to various dishes.
Picada
A lively seasoning of fried bread, and garlic, picada is used in Spanish dishes as a thickener and flavouring. Picada is also a good addition to pasta and plain vegetables. To make 1/2 cup picada, toast 1/4 cup peeled almonds in a 350F oven until they’re pale gold, 8 – 10 minutes. Remove and set aside. Meanwhile, slowly fry one slice of white country-style bread in 2 tbsps olive oil until golden on both sides. Grind the bread, almonds, and 2 large garlic cloves and pinch of salt in a food processor to make a crumbly paste.
potato chickpea stew with picada and romesco sauce
January 22, 2010
This is a great recipe from Spain – Potato and Chickpea Stew with Picada and Romesco Sauce. The Picada and Romesco Sauce share many of the same ingredients but they are two distinct toppings with very different textures and tastes. It looks involved but it’s not hard. There are a number of steps but it’s all pretty easy and straightforward. Enjoy. Make double. Chin Chin. It’s from Deborah Madison‘s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. (Oh, and I keep the extra Romesco Sauce around for sandwiches and dips! It’s really good on the VLT.)
Potato and Chickpea Stew
1 lb waxy-fleshed potatoes
3 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 generous pinches saffron
2 large red bell peppers, diced
1 large yellow or red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch wide strips
1 heaping tsp sweet paprika
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup medium-dry sherry
2 cups crushed tomatoes with juice
2 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (or two 15-oz cans, rinsed)
3 cups chickpea broth, stock, or water
1 1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper
chopped parsley for garnish
If using fingerling potatoes, halve them lengthwise. Large round potatoes can be cut into thick rounds or quartered.
Warm the oil in a wide pot with the onion, garlic, saffron, peppers, and potatoes. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring gently every now and then, until the potatoes are tender-firm, about 25 min. Add the paprika, parsley, and red pepper flakes, and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sherry and cook until the juices are thick and syrupy, about 12 min.
Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, and broth, stock or water to cover. Season with salt and plenty of freshly ground pepper, then cover and cook over low heat until the potatoes are completely tender, about 20 min. If the stew is soupy and you plan to serve it right away, stir in 1/4 cup picada (or more if necessary) to thicken it. If you don’t plan to serve the stew for 1 hour or more, it may not need the bread crumbs since it will thicken as it stands. Serve in soup plates with any additional picada sprinkled over the top along with the extra parsley. Add a spoonful of the Romesco sauce to each bowl and pass the rest.
Romesco Sauce
2 red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, and seeded
1/4 cup almonds, roasted
1/4 cup hazelnuts, roasted and peeled
1 slice country-style white bread
olive oil for frying
3 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tsp ground red chile or red pepper flakes
4 small plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
This Catalan sauce is utterly delicious served with chickpeas, roasted potatoes, or grilled vegetables.
To roast the peppers, place them under a broiler or over a gas flame until the skins are charred. Put them in a bowl, cover with a plate, and set aside for 15 min. Peel and seed the peppers.
Roast the nuts in a 350°F oven for 7 to 10 min., or until they smell toasty. Let them cool slightly, and then rub the hazelnuts between the folds of a towel to remove loose skins. (The almonds don’t need peeling.)
Fry the bread in a little olive oil until golden and crisp. When the bread is cool, grind it with the nuts and garlic in a food processor or a mortar until fairly fine. Add everything else but the vinegar and oil and process or work with the pestle until smooth. With the machine running, or your arm working if you’re using a mortar and pestle, gradually pour in the vinegar, then the oil. Taste to make sure the sauce has enough salt and plenty of piquancy.
Picada
A lively seasoning of fried bread and garlic, picada is used in Spanish dishes as a thickener and flavouring. Picada is also a good addition to pasta and plain vegetables. To make 1/2 cup picada, toast 1/4 cup peeled almonds in a 350°F oven until they’re pale gold, 8 – 10 minutes. Remove and set aside. Meanwhile, slowly fry one slice of white country-style bread in 2 tbsps olive oil until golden on both sides. Grind the bread, almonds, and 2 large garlic cloves and pinch of salt in a food processor to make a crumbly paste.
v:gourmet 