Review: Mediterranean Lasagna (April 2001)

[LGBurns]

OMG! This was delicious. I served this to friends on Friday and they could not stop raving. The lasagna has so much flavor and I found it pretty easy to make. Although it took me over an hour this time, I tend to take a long time the first time I make recipes and I think I could get that time down quite a bit (I made a few tacticle errors that would be easy to change). There is very little chopping to do and it uses mostly things you probably have in your pantry (if you have the intermediate pantry from May's issue ). This is definitely going to be a regular at my house. My husband really liked it too -- although he did say he prefers "more traditional lasagna" (meaning with ricotta and tomato sauce). Still, he wolfed this down. I personally give this dish a 10 and my husband would probably give it an 8 (I didn't ask him to rate this one). The only thing I would change might be to add more roasted red peppers, just because I love them.

[emilycat]

I've been eyeing this recipe and thought it looked delicious -- thanks for the reinforcement!

[livinart]

Hi,
I am new to writing on this board, although I have been reading everyone's posts for a few weeks now. I was wondering if someone could post the recipe for the lasagna, it sounds delicious and I am having friends over in a few days, would love to try this for dinner!
Thanks, Lisa

[GayeC]

Hi. Welcome to the bulletin board. I tried to find this recipe in the "recipe search" function on the CL homepage but couldn't located. One of the BB members who has some nice recipe software will undoubtedly post if for you soon. Gaye

[Grace]

Here you go:

CookWare(tm) from Cooking Light(r)

Mediterranean Lasagna

SOURCE: Cooking Light YEAR: April 2001 PAGE: 178

INGREDIENTS FOR 6 SERVINGS:
Cooking spray
2 cups chopped leek
1-1/2 cups chopped onion
1 teaspoon dried mint flakes
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
1 (7-ounce) bottle roasted red bell peppers, drained and chopped
1 cup drained canned cannellini beans
1-1/2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups fat-free milk
1 (4-ounce) package crumbled feta cheese
3 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
6 no-boil lasagna noodles (such as Barilla or Vigo)
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

INSTRUCTIONS:
Artichokes, feta cheese, and spinach give this lasagna a Greek flavor.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high
heat. Add leek and next 4 ingredients (leek through garlic), and saute 5
minutes. Add artichokes and bell pepper, and saute 3 minutes. Stir in beans,
and remove from heat.

3. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour, and cook 2
minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk. Gradually add milk, stirring with a
whisk until blended, and cook until slightly thick (about 4 minutes). Remove
from heat. Add feta and 2 tablespoons Parmesan; stir until cheese melts.

4. Spread 1/4 cup cheese sauce in bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish
coated with cooking spray. Arrange 2 noodles over cheese sauce; top with half
of leek mixture, half of spinach, 1/4 cup mozzarella, and 1/2 cup cheese
sauce. Repeat layers, ending with noodles. Pour remaining cheese sauce over
noodles, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup mozzarella and 1 tablespoon Parmesan.

5. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes
or until top is golden. Let stand 5 minutes. Yield: 6 servings.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
CALORIES 341 (31% from fat); FAT 11.9g (sat 6.9g, mono 2.8g, poly 0.9g);
PROTEIN 18.8g; CARB 42.6g; FIBER 4.4g; CHOL 53mg; IRON 4.1mg; SODIUM 548mg;
CALC 410mg

[livinart]

Thanks for the recipe!

[LGBurns]

Oops! Forgot to mention that I substituted basil for mint (I'm not a big fan of mint). Hope it turns out as well for you as it did for me!

Oh, and thanks for posting the recipe, Grace!

[This message has been edited by LGBurns (edited 05-14-2001).]

[lindrusso]

It was one of those nights - no plan for dinner - and this was one of the few recipes for which I happened to have everything. Well, there was the problem with having no roasted peppers - I'd swear I had 3 bottles in the pantry!

Anyway, I thought it was quite good. I don't know if I'd crave this recipe in the future, but as LGBurns pointed out, it is one of those recipes where you can easily have every ingredient on hand. I'm sure it would greatly improved with the red peppers - both in taste and in color.

Hey, I even put the fennel in and I'm a confessed fennel-hater. I suppose it's growing on me. Hubby was quite skeptical - he's not big on spinach or beans - and even he said it was "pretty good".

Oh and LGBurns - I keep chopped leeks and onions in the freezer which cut down on the prep time.