Monday 1 March 2010

Egg Plant-Zucchini Lasagne in Tomato-Ricotta Cheese Sauce

P1020388
Hi Everyone. Wish you all a very Happy HOLI.
Italian food is very diverse, as Italy is a country of changing climates and landscapes, so every region has a it’s own particular dish. The Northern Italy with it’s fertile plains, mountains and lakes produces good quality wines and dairy foods in contrast to that the sunnier, rockier south is the home to olive trees, tomatoes and fresh herbs.
Surely there are regional differences in the cuisine and the reason for this culinary fragmentation is simple: With the exception of the nobility and the clergy, before WWII most Italians simply didn't travel, and as a result every town and every valley has something unique. Neighboring towns and valleys will also share techniques, or recipes, albeit with individualistic twists, but from one end of a region to the other the picture can change completely. But they do have certain features in common ..the ingredients are fresh, the techniques simple, the recipes are traditional and the cooking home style.
Some regions of Italy are Piedmont which means ‘at the foot of the mountain’ and is the area bordering on both France and Switzerland. Liguria often called the ‘Italian Riveria’, this region is rich in natural resources and has abundance of herbs, vegetables, fruits and olives. I will surely talk about other regions in my next posts on Italian cooking…
Lasagne originated in the Emilia-Romagna region of north central Italy where authentic egg pasta was born. The wide flat sheets of pasta originally made by the Romans were called lasagne. Although the dish is generally believed to have originated in Italy, one theory is that the word "lasagna" comes from the Greek ‘lasana’ or ‘lasananon’ meaning ‘trivet or stand for a pot’.The Romans borrowed the word as "lasanum", in Latin, meaning "cooking pot". The Italians used the word to refer to the dish in which lasagna is made. It wasn't long before the name of the food took on the name of the serving dish.
Coming to the preparation this recipe asks for colourful alternate layers of pasta covered with eggplant and zucchini, softened and creamed by the tomato- ricotta sauce. It’s a very filling preparation with rich aromatic flavors of the fresh herbs used in the preparation. The rich baked dish is topped with mozzarella cheese and baked until golden brown. This recipe can be prepared upto 24 hrs in advance and kept in refrigerator until needed.
Ingredients
6 Lasagne sheets
2 onions finely chopped
5 large tomatoes chopped
6-7 garlic finely chopped
1 zucchini sliced
1 large eggplant sliced
2 tbsp red chili flakes
200 gm ricotta cheese
2-3 tbsp chopped celery
1 –2 tbsp chopped oregano
mozzarella cheese
salt to taste
black pepper crushed
olive oil and some butter
Method
Cook Lasagne as per the instructions given.
Use olive oil and saute  the Zucchini and eggplant separately with some salt and pepper till they are almost cooked.
Heat some butter and tip in the chopped garlic and onions, saute and add the tomatoes. Add salt, when the tomatoes are mushy tip in the herbs, red chili flakes, some freshly ground pepper and ricotta cheese. Let this sauce have a loose texture but surely not watery.
Grease a baking dish and spread three sheets of Lasagne, this needs to be done very carefully if the sheets are precooked as they turn fragile and break easily on lifting.
Now, spread a layer of Zucchini followed by eggplant slices pour half of the tomato- ricotta sauce. Repeat the layers again.
Top it with grated mozzarella and bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for 25 mins or more till the cheese melts and turns golden brown.
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Serve it hot. This portion can serve about 6 people. Sending this to Pasta Party at Panch Pakwan and also to Cooking with Pasta an event hosted by creative Saga.
Event going on!!
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52 comments:

Hayley said...

Hey Pari
Hope you enjoyed your holi yesterday!! Lasagne dish looks awesome and delicious...my daughter makes them quite often..like using ricoota...

Ms.Chitchat said...

Happy Holi to ur and ur family. Egg plant Zucchini Lasagne looks very appetizing. Clicks are self-explanatory.

Chitchat

Deepa G Joshi said...

hey Pari, this looks like a blend of ratatouille due to the egg plant addition..too good clicks such a yummy dish..bookmarked..

TREAT AND TRICK said...

Healthy and yummy pasta, love your step by step photos, thanks for sharing....

Rekha said...

Happy holi, the spread looks yummilicious..

Cool Lassi(e) said...

Happy Holi to you as well. Had a nice time? The Lasagna looks rich and fabulous!

Sarah Naveen said...

Happy Holi dear!!!! beautiful click and Looks so perfect and yummy!!

SE said...

this looks awesome and very tempting dish indeed..nice info about italian cooking !!!

Saraswathy Balakrishnan said...

Well I have no words to describe my dear..looks too delicious to say NOOOOO:)

Jyoti V said...

Looks so good..Very nice info and step by step pics..

Pari Vasisht said...

Thank you friends for all the appreciation, I am glad u liked the recipe and the info too.

Suresh said...

Looked fabulous and tasted authentic !!!

Sushma Mallya said...

i too love italian food esp lasagna..and nice info on it...i usually do it with spinach and ricotto cheese but your version too looks great pari, looks delicious...

Priya Suresh said...

Happy holi to u & ur family Pari...Thanks for sharing this delicious lasagne dish, also for sharing loads of info about Italian cooking, enjoyed reading..

Trendsetters said...

creamy n nice

Renuka Bedre - Rao said...

I loved this recipe..pretty new to me..looks so yummy..Happy holi to u n ur family!!

Rachana said...

Happy Holi dear! The Lasagne looks so rich n yummy!! Lovely step by step pics.

Sayantani said...

Pasta ismy one stop solution for everything in a jiffy but yet to try Lasagna. this one looks perfect...very tempting with all that cheese oozing out. my mouth is watering looking at it.

Urmi said...

Wish you and your family a very Happy Holi.
Lasagne dish looks spicy, yummy and tempting. Wonderful presentation.

Swathi said...

Pari,

Lasagna recipe looks really delicious.

Ramya Vijaykumar said...

Pari, those pictures are just perfect... I love lasagne, but have tried once... bookmarking this!!!

Simplyfood said...

Beautiful step by step instructions.Love dish and beautiful capture on camera.

subhashini said...

Mouthwatering dish.

Cham said...

Hope u had a wonderful Holi!
I love lasagna sounds and look delicious!

Latha said...

Happy holi! lasagna looks very delicious.

Gita Jaishankar said...

Nice interesting info Pari..love your step by step photos assembling the lasagnas...it looks so rich and tasty :)

Shri said...

Pari,
Happy Holi! The lasagna looks absolutely wonderful and the combination is just tempting!

PJ said...

Happy Holi to you and your family, Pari! I loved reading about Italy here.. it is one country I wish I would get to visit sometime, so pretty and so rich in its cultures, right! Your eggplant zucchini lasagna is so yummy, very nice use of zucchini here.

Pari Vasisht said...

Thank you friends for all those lovely comments.
Rachana, indeed the texture comes out very creamy due to ricotta.
Sushma, I love spinach ricotta combo and have used in my pizza.
PJ, thanks all the wishes dear. Yes, Italy is surely a place that I want to visit especially Rome. There's so much history behind all the places. My bro has visited it and was all gaga about it..

Nandinis food said...

And I thought the nobility-clergy stuff existed only in France. Never mind, I'm droolz over the snap!

sulagna said...

pari the advice for the cake was brilliant..it worked it worked..m sure saturday afternoon was brilliant for you cuz i was blessing you for the soft chocolate cake on my table !!!

Jeyashris Kitchen said...

new recipe pari.love to taste it.

Tina said...

Beautiful click dear...Looks yummy...

Kanchan said...

Awesome clicks ! and in depth information about Italian cuisine !

Meena said...

Hi there, Pari...loved the detailed history of pasta and the beautiful recipe...the lasagna recipe looks just perfect and your pics have captured its beauty perfectly too!!!

Katy ~ said...

Excellent, excellent! I love lasagna. Addition of eggplant is a terrific idea. I would love this version! Big YUMMs up!!

Latha said...

Great clicks....lasagna looks so perfect and yummm...wish I could have some :).

Khaugiri said...

Nice post Pari!!!! Just love your lasagna, will try it soon:). Our Holi was cool....not very special.

Malar Gandhi said...

Dear Pari and family, happy holi:)

Oh man, this looks incredible..looks like lot of work, but worth it, right. GOrgeous presentation.

Unknown said...

love it..looks so tempting and delicious..

Sunitha said...

Lovely! eggplant and zucchini in lasagne..wow!

Aparna said...

Happy Holi pari..you alwys give a step by step presentation..excellent work..keep it up

ruchikacooks said...

Pari, this looks gorgeous. I like the step by step info you provide..A good recipe to include eggplants with the diet too, tricky treat :)

I am also hosting an event pari, called home remedies, you can check out the details at www.ruchikacooks.com.

Unknown said...

love u'r step by step photos.Lasagne looks yummy

PS said...

i always wanted to try lasagne myself. thanks for the step by step procedure..

Simply Life said...

WOW! What a delicious meal that can be served to anyone!

Fathima said...

Lasagne looks awesome....and great info on Italian cusine and lasagne

Pavithra Elangovan said...

Oh wow thats truely tempting....

Deepti said...

Happy holi Pari, me n my DH both luv lasagne...this makes me hungry.

Siddhi Shirsat said...

wow pari lasagne looks yummy...lovely recipe with step by step instructn

Recipeswap said...

Lasagna makes me so hungry,looks absolutely delish!

Unknown said...

Thanks a ton for sending it to my event..can you just post the link in my comment section here..
Thanks in advance
http://creativesaga.blogspot.com/2010/03/pasta-with-broccoli-and-mushrooms-and.html

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