Spinach Lasagna

“Many people don’t know that the crock inside a slow cooker is ovenproof and you can transfer a dish like lasagna into the oven (up to 400°F) for 10 minutes to brown the top,” says Golino. Just be sure the pot is hot, to avoid drastic temperature changes that can cause it to crack.

Yield:

Serves 8

Ingredients

1. 1 medium onion, quartered
2. 1 cup fresh basil leaves
3. 1 Tbs. dried oregano
4. 2 cloves garlic, peeled, plus 1 clove minced (1 tsp.), divided
5. 1 8-oz. pkg. tempeh, cut into chunks
6. 1 28-oz. can chopped fire-roasted tomatoes
7. 2 Tbs. olive oil, plus more for oiling slow cooker
8. 1 tsp. salt
9. 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
10. 2 10-oz. pkgs. frozen spinach, thawed and drained
11. 8 oven-ready lasagna noodles
12. 1 16-oz. jar roasted red peppers, rinsed and drained
13. 1 16-oz. container low-fat ricotta cheese, divided
14. 1 cup grated Swiss cheese, divided

Directions

1. Place onion, basil, oregano, and 2 whole garlic cloves in food processor; pulse 6 times, or until onion and garlic are chopped. Add tempeh, and pulse until tempeh is ground. Add tomatoes, oil, salt, and pepper; pulse until chunky sauce forms.
2. Combine spinach and minced garlic in bowl, and season with salt and pepper.
3. Coat bottom and sides of 4-quart slow cooker with oil. Spread 1 cup tomato sauce over bottom, and cover with layer of lasagna noodles, breaking them in pieces to fit around edges. Spread 3/4 cup spinach mixture over top. Place 1 layer roasted red peppers over spinach, and top with 3/4 cup ricotta. Spread 1 cup tomato sauce over ricotta. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup Swiss cheese. Repeat, layering noodles, spinach, peppers, ricotta, Swiss cheese, and tomato sauce. Top with 1 more layer noodles and remaining spinach, tomato sauce, ricotta, and Swiss cheese.
4. Cook 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low. Let stand uncovered 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

Ravioli with Sweet Potato Sauce

This mellow sauce served over a hearty pasta combines comfort and elegance in one easy meal. Serve with some steamed broccoli florets, baby carrots and red and green bell pepper strips. Round out the meal with slices of fresh Italian bread.

Yield:

4 Servings

Ingredients

1. 1 large sweet potato (about 8 oz.)
2. 16-oz. pkg. frozen vegetable-filled ravioli or tortellini
3. 1 Tbs. butter or soy margarine
4. 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
5. 1 cup low-fat milk or soy milk or as needed
6. Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
7. 1 cup frozen green petite peas, thawed
8. Chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Pierce several holes in skin of sweet potato with a fork. Microwave sweet potato on high power about 8 minutes or until tender. Plunge potato into a bowl of cold water (or, if you microwaved an extra sweet potato from the previous night’s dinner, simply use it as is).
2. Meanwhile, cook frozen pasta in a large pot of rapidly boiling water according to package directions. Drain well and return to the pot.
3. In small skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring often, for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
4. Peel sweet potato and mash it well in a medium bowl. Stir in garlic and enough milk to achieve the consistency of a thick sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Add sauce to cooked pasta in the pot. Stir in green peas and heat through. Garnish with parsley and serve right away.

Notes

Mushroom Ravioli with Green Pea Purée

Homemade ravioli is a great make-ahead dish when you use won ton wrappers for the pasta. Place filled ravioli on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until hard. Store in a resealable plastic bag in the freezer.

Yield:

Serves 4

Ingredients

1. Mushroom Ravioli
2. ====================
3. 2 Tbs. olive oil
4. 1/2 small onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
5. 1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp.)
6. 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
7. 8 oz. wild mushroom mix or assorted mushrooms, chopped (3 cups)
8. 2 Tbs. sherry
9. 24 won ton wrappers
10. .
11. Green Pea Purée
12. ===================
13. 2 cups frozen peas, thawed
14. 3/4 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
15. 2 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish, if desired

Directions

1. To make Mushroom Ravioli: Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, and cook 5 to 7 minutes, or until translucent and starting to brown. Stir in garlic and thyme, and cook 1 minute more. Add mushrooms, and increase heat to high. Sauté mushrooms 7 minutes, or until all liquid has evaporated. Add sherry to pan and cook 1 minute, or until sherry has evaporated. Transfer to bowl, and cool 20 minutes.
2. Place 1 won ton wrapper on work surface. Brush edges with water. Spoon 1 tsp. mushroom mixture in center of wrapper and fold into triangle, pressing edges to seal. Repeat with remaining wrappers and mushroom mixture.
3. To make Green Pea Purée: Blend peas, broth, and cheese in blender until smooth. Transfer to saucepan, and warm over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
4. Bring large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add ravioli and cook 2 minutes, or until cooked through. Drain. Spoon Pea Purée onto plates, and top with ravioli. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Notes

Fresh Egg Fettuccine

Although this flour, semolina, and egg mixture begins as a stiff dough, it cooks into beautiful, velvety noodles that are as smooth as butter. A pasta machine makes this recipe easy and foolproof. Store-bought fettuccine simply can’t compare to homemade.

Yield:

Serves 12

Ingredients

1. 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2. 2 cups semolina (sometimes called semolina flour)
3. 5 large eggs, lightly beaten

Directions

1. MAKE DOUGH:
2. Combine flour and semolina, then mound on a work surface (preferably wooden). Make a well in center and add eggs and 1/2 tsp salt to well. (Alternatively, put ingredients in a food processor.)
3. Gradually stir enough flour into eggs (using a fork) to form a paste, pulling in flour closest to egg mixture and being careful not to make an opening in wall of well. Knead remaining flour into mixture with your hands to form a dough (it should be firm and not sticky). Knead dough until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. (If using a processor, blend about 30 seconds total.)
4. Cover dough with an inverted bowl and let dough rest 1 hour to make rolling easier.
5. ROLL OUT PASTA:
6. Divide dough into 8 pieces, then flatten each piece into a rough rectangle and cover rectangles with an inverted large bowl. Set rollers of pasta machine on widest setting.
7. Lightly dust 1 rectangle with flour and feed through rollers. (Keep remaining dough under bowl.) Fold rectangle in half and feed it, folded end first, through rollers 7 or 8 more times, folding it in half each time and feeding folded end through. Dust with flour if necessary to prevent sticking.
8. Turn dial to next (narrower) setting and feed dough through rollers without folding. Continue to feed dough through rollers once at each setting, without folding, until you reach the second to narrowest setting. Dough will be a smooth sheet (about 36 inches long and 4 inches wide). Cut sheet in half crosswise.
9. Lay sheets of dough on lightly floured baking sheets to dry until leathery but still pliable, about 15 minutes. (Alternatively, lightly dust pasta sheets with flour and hang over the backs of chairs to dry.) Roll out remaining pieces of dough in same manner.
10. CUT PASTA:
11. Attach fettuccine blades (to cut 1/4-inch-wide strips) to pasta machine. Feed one end of driest pasta sheet (the first one you rolled out) into cutters, holding other end straight up, then catch strips from underneath machine before sheet goes completely through rollers and gently lay across floured baking sheets. (Alternatively, lightly flour strips and hang over backs of chairs.) Repeat with remaining sheets of pasta. Let pasta dry at least 5 minutes before cooking.
12. COOK PASTA:
13. Cook fettuccine in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (3 Tbsp salt for 6 qt water) until tender, about 2 minutes (do not overcook). Drain.

Notes

Dough can be made (but not rolled out) 4 hours ahead and chilled, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap. Bring to room temperature before rolling out.Fettuccine can be dried until leathery but still pliable, about 30 minutes, then chilled in sealable bags up to 12 hours.

Cheesy Chicken And Mushroom Lasagne

No-boil lasagne noodles are a lifesaver: They can turn what’s often perceived as a party dish into a practical weeknight supper—especially since you have the luxury of simply reaching into the refrigerator and pulling out the main ingredient: half a roast chicken. Leftover lasagne noodles are handy for crumbling into soup.

Yield:

Serves 4

Ingredients

1. 1 (10-oz) package cremini or white mushrooms, thinly sliced
2. 3 garlic cloves, minced
3. 1 tablespoon olive oil
4. 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
5. 1/2 cup dry white wine
6. 1/2 roast chicken, skin discarded, meat shredded (about 2 1/4 cups), and carcass reserved for stock
7. 3 1/2 cups whole milk
8. 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
9. 2 teaspoons thyme leaves
10. 3/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
11. 12 Barilla no-boil egg lasagne noodles (less than a 9-oz package)
12. 1 1/2 cups coarsely grated Gruyère (3 oz)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle.
2. Cook mushrooms, garlic, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper in oil and 1 Tbsp butter in a 4-qt heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are softened, about 3 minutes. Add wine and simmer briskly 2 minutes. Transfer mushroom mixture to a large bowl and stir in chicken. (Set aside saucepan.)
3. Bring milk to a bare simmer in a medium saucepan. Melt remaining 4 Tbsp butter in 4-qt saucepan over medium-low heat. Add flour and cook roux, whisking constantly, 3 minutes. Add hot milk in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Add thyme, 3/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper and simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat and reserve 1 cup sauce. Stir parmesan into sauce remaining in pan, then stir into mushroom filling.
4. Pour half of reserved plain sauce into baking pan, spreading evenly to coat bottom. Add 3 lasagne sheets, overlapping slightly, and one third of mushroom filling, spreading evenly, then sprinkle one fourth of Gruyère over top. Repeat 2 times. Top with remaining 3 lasagne sheets and remaining plain sauce, spreading evenly. Sprinkle with remaining Gruyère.
5. Cover with foil, tenting slightly to prevent foil from touching top of lasagne but sealing all around edge, and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until cheese is golden, about 15 minutes more. Let lasagne stand 10 minutes before serving.

Notes