March DB Challenge: Lasagne

This month's Daring Baker challenge definitely used the oven... just not in the way most of us were expecting! Lasagne - not really something we DBers think of when we want to bake, but it was definitely a challenge for me! I've made fresh pasta before, but never spinach pasta, and I barely ever make lasagne. I'm more of an instant results sorta gal when it comes to dinner :)

Lucky me, that my boyfriend gave me a KitchenAid pasta roller attachment for Christmas this year! I felt so bad for all the Daring Bakers who struggled to roll this pasta out by hand - it wasn't the most supple of doughs, and I even had to add an extra egg because it wasn't quite moist enough.


I did have an ulterior motive in my changes to the recipe. I decided almost immediately to make it vegetarian, and figured it was a perfect excuse to shove more veggies into my boyfriend, who apparently can live on meat and pasta every day all day with no ill effects. So into the pot went every vegetable that looked good at the grocery store today, but minced up so finely that he couldn't tell what veggie he was eating. And so finely he couldn't pick them out. Sneaky, huh? If nothing else, I at least told him what I put into it! No deceptively delicious here!


And oh, was it good. Ricotta instead of bechamel made it a bit more traditional to me, and I loved how whisper-thin the pasta was. It was also the sturdiest lasagne I've ever made - just look at how neatly it sliced! I had it for dinner, then for lunch for the rest of the week. And that was a half recipe of everything! It was so worth the time and effort, and I'm incredibly glad I finally made lasagne with fresh pasta - thanks Mary, Melinda, and Enza, for another fabulous Daring Baker Challenge!

Vegetable Ragu

1 large onion
2 carrots
2 celery ribs
1 small zucchini
1 small yellow squash
1 cup button mushrooms
1/2 red bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
2 Tbs tomato paste
1 (14.5 oz) can finely diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup red wine

Coarsely chop the celery, onions, carrots, mushrooms, squash, zucchini, and bell pepper. Pulse in a food processor until finely chopped. Depending on the size of your food processor, you may need to do this in multiple batches. Saute in a tablespoon or so of olive oil until softened. Add in everything else but the wine and bring to a simmer. Add the red wine a bit at a time, as the mixture dries out. Simmer uncovered for at least 30 minutes - I simmered for an hour, and it really helped develop the flavor.

Spinach Pasta Dough

7 oz flour
3 oz frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 eggs

Combine the flour, spinach, and eggs. Knead 5-10 minutes, or until smooth. Allow to rest at least 30 minutes, covered, before rolling out.

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.