Pip's Plate

Nothing is more soothing on a cold gray day than a plate full of fresh-from-the-oven lasagna.

This version attempts to make lasagna a bit healthier than the traditional beef and cheese version. I’ve substituted ground chicken, added a ton of veggies, and cut down on the amount of cheese.

With all these veggies layered in between pasta and cheese, this becomes hearty and good-tasting to the bone.

Serve with garlic bread and Caesar salad for a complete meal.

4 Layer Hearty Chicken & Vegetable Lasagna
Makes 8 servings
Time: about 1 hour and 45 min

Ingredients
12 uncooked lasagna sheets
2 T olive oil, divided
1 # ground chicken
1 zucchini, diced
1/2 white onion diced
1 serrano pepper minced with seeds (optional)
5 cloves garlic minced
1 cup quartered baby bella mushrooms
26 oz jar tomato-basil pasta sauce
1 T chopped fresh oregano
1 t salt
1 t fresh ground pepper
2 cups shredded part skim mozzarella cheese, divided
15 oz container part skim ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Boil 6 quarts water in large pot. Add 1 T salt when boiling. Add lasagna to pot, stir, and cook for about 6-7 minutes, or according to package. When cooked, drain and set aside.

3. Meanwhile, heat 1 T olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add ground chicken and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks through. When fully cooked, remove from pan and place on a plate.

4. Heat remaining 1 T olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini, onion, garlic, serrano, and mushrooms. Cook for about 5 minutes or until onion is translucent.

5. Add chicken back to skillet with pasta sauce, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to simmer and let simmer while mixing remaining ingredients.

6. Combine 1 cup mozzarella, ricotta and eggs.

7. In a lightly greased 9 x 13″ pan, add 1 cup sauce mixture to bottom. Place 3 lasagna sheets on top of sauce. Add 1/3 of the cheese mixture, then 1/3 of the remaining sauce. Repeat layering pasta, cheese, and sauce. Top with Parmesan then remaining 1 cup mozzarella.

8. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 – 50 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 15 minutes. This is important because it gels together, making it much easier to dish out. Cut into 8 pieces and serve hot.

After the brilliant success of our first Gourmet Club meeting back in January, I immediately went home and started scavenging the internet for braised short rib recipes – because it doesn’t get much better than that. And man oh man….it doesn’t.

Nicole and I were serving the main course this time, which also meant we would be hosting it at my house. I first thought an Asian inspired short rib recipe would be exactly what I was looking for. Until I found this recipe: Brasato al Barolo (Braised Short Ribs with Pumpkin Orzo and Horseradish Gremolata). YUM.

Then I thought…wait a second, this is from Mario Batali’s restaurant Babbo cookbook…hmmm…why does that sound familiar? Then it dawned on me! I finished a book at the end of November titled “Heat” – which is now one of my favorite books – about Bill Buford working for Mario Batali and traveling through Italy. Well, this dish is mentioned in great detail. I looked it up, laughed at the descriptions (it’s violently vulgar), and said “sign me up! this is the dish!”

I read some more about the region this dish comes from – Emilia Romagna in northern Italy and discovered this from wikipedia:

The city of Bologna is famous for its superb cuisine. Perhaps less well known is the fact that it lies at the heart of Emilia Romagna, a region celebrated both in Italy and abroad for the range and quality of its culinary delights. From the Adriatic coast of Ravenna and Forlì to the inland plains and river vallleys of Parma, Piacenza, and Modena, Emila Romagna is richly blessed with prime produce and ingenious cooks.

We preordered short ribs (not flank style but the cut with one bone per rib) and picked them up early that Saturday along with all the other ingredients, then went back to my place to get everything prepped. Have you ever grated fresh horseradish? It is STRONG. And it’s fleshy and weird – it kind of creeped me out a bit.

Either way, the dish was hands down the best dish I’ve ever made. It was simple enough to do again, although somewhat time intensive as it requires a long time in the oven. Although the recipe says to braise at 375 for 2 hours, the next time I would braise at 350 for 3 hours.

The table setting had an Italian theme with reds, greens, and yellows.

Here is the menu:

First Course

Antipasto platter of assorted meats, cheeses, olives, and breads

Paired with: Tommasi Poggio al Tufo Rompicollo, Maremma Tuscana, 2004

Second Course

Tagliatelle with Mussels, Clams and Pesto

Paired with: Tamellini Soave, 2005 (excellent wine)

Third Course

Braised Short Ribs with Pumpkin Orzo and Horseradish Gremolata

Paired with: Josetta Saffirio Barolo, 2002

*A special note about the wine: there is this fellow who suggests wine at the place I love to go (Hennepin Lake Liquors in Uptown – their selection and prices are unbeatable) who, in the past, has had a very low success rate at suggesting wines for me. My strategy for Sat? Avoid him AT ALL COSTS. Well…that unfortunately didn’t happen as another worker pointed me directly to him and there was no one else in the store. F*****ck. He ended up suggesting this wine and it was excellent. Thank god. It was $40/bottle and we bought 2. Josetta Saffirio learned how to make wine from her mom and dad, who are both professors of winemaking in Italy. This is her second or third vintage and only makes 3,000 cases a year.

Fourth Course

Various Cheeses: Taleggio served with honeycomb, Pecorino ginepro served with balsamic reduction and olive oil, Sottocenere al Tartufo, Blu del Moncenisio with fig pear spread, Valsesia Toma with fig pear spread, La Tur with honeycomb

Paired with: Ruvei Barbera d’Alba, 2005

Fifth Course

Panna Cotta with fresh strawberries and blackberries

Paired with: Felsina vin Santo Chianti Classico, 1999

recipes after the jump

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