Lasagna with home-made Multi-grain sheets

Well this weekend has been an Italian celebration for us. Yesterday it was pizza and today it is Lasagna. I was never a very great fan of lasagna. Somehow it was never on my list of favorite recipes. But my husband enjoys it a lot and he actually gave me this recipe to try out along with the lasagna sheets. Sheets are not readily available in my place and even if they are available they are quite expensive.

After preparing lasagna with this recipe I actually started liking it and then realized the reason for not liking it earlier. The sauce that goes into the lasagna should not be too runny. There should be a slight moisture just enough to steam the sheets while baking. That way the texture is intact and the taste is incredible.

Ingredients:

For lasagna sheets (makes 4 sheets 4” x 8”):
Multi-grain flour – 3/4 cup (store bought, contains whole wheat flour, soy, oats, husk etc)
Semolina/Suji/Upma ravva – ¼ cup
Egg – 1
Salt – to taste
Water – to knead dough

For filling:
Capsicum – ¼ cup (finely chopped)
Carrots – ½ cup (finely diced)
Beetroot – ¼ cup (finely diced)
Spinach leaves/Palak – ¼ cup (roughly chopped)
Green beans – ¼ cup (finely chopped)
Eggplants/Brinjal – ¼ cup (finely cut)
Green peas – ¼ cup
Corn kernels – ¼ cup
Spinach/Palak leaves – 4 or 5 (tear them into roughly sized pieces)
Salt – a pinch
Pepper – a pinch
Olive oil/vegetable oil – 1 tbsp
Pasta sauce – 1 cup

For topping:
Cheese – 1 cup (I used shredded mozzarella)

Procedure:

To prepare lasagna sheets

1. Mix together the flour, semolina and salt in a mixing bowl.
2. Add the beaten egg and start kneading the dough. Try kneading it using the egg first and then depending on the requirement keep adding water a tbsp at a time to make a firm and hard dough.
3. Cover with foil or in an air-tight container and let it rest for about 15-20 minutes.
4. Divide the dough into 4 equal sized balls and roll each ball on a slightly dusted surface using a rolling pin.
5. Roll each ball into a rectangle with 4” x 8” size. You may vary the size depending on the size of your baking dish/lasagna pan. Mine is small so I made small sheets.
6. Make the sheets as thin as possible.

To prepare the filling

1. Heat oil in a pan and add all the ingredients except the pasta sauce under ‘For filling’.
2. Cover with lid and let it cook for about 2-3 minutes or until the vegetables are half cooked.
3. Remove the lid, add the pasta sauce and let it simmer for another minute or so. Remove from heat.

To assemble:

1. Spray oil on the baking dish and place one lasagna sheet first.
2. Spread a healthy layer of prepared filling and cover it with another sheet.
3. Spread cheese evenly over this second sheet and place the third sheet on top of this.
4. Now spread the remaining filling over this third sheet and cover it up with the fourth sheet.
5. Spread the remaining cheese all over the sheet and bake this in an oven that’s is pre-heated to 200°C for about 15-20 minutes.
6. You will initially see water bubbling on the edges of the baking tray. You need to bake it till the bubbles almost disappear. That is when you will get the right texture to your lasagna.
7. Remove from oven and enjoy your Italian feast.

Note:

1. You may sprinkle some salt and pepper over the cheese as well. This will enhance the flavor of cheese a bit.
2. Use a baking dish with walls on the side and not a flat baking tray. The lasagna needs support on the edges to stand and hence a flat tray will not work.

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