Lasagne is a staple for many this time of year. It is easy. You can make it ahead of time and it feeds a crowd. While there are some gluten free noodles out there, I usually substitute vegetables sliced super thin, like zucchini or butternut squash. However, at the Celiac Kids Connection (a support group for kids with celiac disease based out of Children’s Hospital in Boston) Holiday Party, I picked up a free sample of Organic Green Lentil Lasagne from Explore Cuisine. It was delicious and made for a festive tray of lasagne. I believe you can order it from Amazon or local to me here, south of Boston, at Good Health and certain Stop and Shop and Shaws locations.
Green Lentil Lasagne
Ingredients
1-8 ounce box of Green Lentil Lasagne
24 ounces of tomato sauce
1 Tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
10 ounces of tomato puree
6 Tablespoons of butter
6 Tablespoons of gluten-free flour (My favorite is Cup4Cup)
1 teaspoon of salt
1/8 teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
about 1 1/2 cups of milk (add more if bechamel is not the right consistency – should cover the back of a wooden spoon)
1 cup of ricotta cheese, reserve about 1/3 cup for top
8 ounce block of mozzarella, shredded, reserve about 1/2 cup for top
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, mix tomato sauce, balsamic vinegar and tomato puree, then set aside. In a medium sauce pan, add the butter, flour and spices. Cook for a couple of minutes, add milk and whisk until smooth. Take off the heat and mix in ricotta and mozzarella, saving the amounts mentioned above for the top.
Ladle about 1/3 of the sauce into the bottom of a casserole dish. Layer with the green lentil lasagne noodles (or your vegetable/noodle of choice). Pour cheese sauce over to cover noodles. Repeat at least 2 more times. After top cheese sauce layer, sprinkle mozzarella and add dollops of ricotta.
Cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes. Remove foil and cook for another 15-20 minutes until cheese starts to brown and is bubbly. Resist putting a fork into and taking a bite for at least 15 minutes to let it rest.
My sister-in-law once made a lasagne when we visited for the holidays and added the bechamel. That is where I got the idea. It makes for a decadent and delicious holiday meal. No one will even notice that you are using lentil noodles or vegetables as noodles. They will never believe its gluten free!
What are you making for the holidays?
I just saw a Valerie bertinelli cooking show on food network where she used bechemel in her lasagna I had never seen that before but it looked really good! I want to try this maybe with zucchini!