The Makeshift Cook

Oh hello, internets. Remember me? No? I'm the owner of this here blog, which languished all summer. I do have a reasonably good excuse for some of the absence: I got married 4 weeks ago, and while I was not CONSUMED by wedding planning, it most certainly did absorb some energy. Also, it was summer, and I was doing summery things, like not cooking.

So I'm coming back at you today with, by way of penance, a delicious fat-bomb. It could definitely be worse: I could have used full-fat dairy products and a lot more cheese. Regardless, this is one of those meals that tells you that warm weather is definitively a thing of the past and you should start amassing an extra layer against the cold wind.

We got our last CSA box on Wednesday, and it was full of squash and pumpkins and beets and carrots and potatoes and brussels sprouts, all those harvest-y, hunker-down-for-the-winter kinds of foods. I roasted some unidentified squash earlier this week and hadn't decided how to use it until one of my Facebook friends asked the same general question: what do I do with all this squash? And then I remembered an amazing pasta dish a friend made me years ago, a homemade butternut ravioli with gouda sauce (and then I died). Coincidentally, today I found a picture of myself eating that very meal (we often photographed our feasts back then). There were brussels sprouts on the side, which was an excellent idea as well.


Kale and sage from my backyard, being investigated by Ace

In light of all this, I decided to make a lasagna using the same pairing of smoky, salty cheese and sweet winter squash, but with a sage-infused bechamel sauce and layers of kale sauteed with caramelized onions. This is not one of your quick weeknight meals, but if you're already sitting on 1-2 pounds of roasted winter squash, you can do the prep in about 30-40 minutes. If you don't have any squash ready, seeding, baking, scooping, and pureeing it will realistically take you at least an hour. While it's baking, though, you can do the other lasagna prep. Baking time for the lasagna is another hour.



Winter Squash Lasagna with Kale, Sage, and Caramelized Onions

Pre-heat your oven to 350 once your onions are well in hand.

For the bechamel sauce:
2-3 T olive oil
3 T flour
3 c milk (I used 1%)
30 or so fresh sage leaves, roughly chopped
1/2 t dried rosemary
2 cloves garlic, minced

Warm the oil in a small pan. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk together. Whisk in the milk 1/2 cup at a time and allow the mixture to thicken slightly. Reduce the heat to low and add the sage leaves and rosemary. While this is infusing, saute the garlic briefly in a little olive oil, and then scrape every bit of it into the sauce. You can either leave it on very low heat or turn the burner off while you do the rest of the prep.



For the fillings:
1 large onion, sliced
1 bunch kale, chopped
olive oil for the pan
salt

In the same pan you used for the garlic, heat a bit more oil and add the onions, stirring to coat. Sprinkle with a little salt. Let the onions cook very slowly and stir frequently. When they are full of caramely goodness, add the kale and two tablespoons (or so) of water. Cook until the kale is bright green and wilted and the onions are as done as you'd like them to be.


Steamy!

1-2 pounds of baked/roasted winter squash
1 15 ounce tub of ricotta (I used part-skim)

Puree the squash using whatever equipment you like--I used an immersion blender. Add half the ricotta and mix together. Either salt and pepper to taste, or leave this plain, depending on your reaction to the side note below.

Side note: at this point in the prep I had a moment of reckoning. The squash by itself was perfect, sweet and delicious; with ricotta added, it was starting to taste like pumpkin cheesecake, and I sampled a lot more than was strictly necessary. I didn't add anything else to the squash mixture because I thought if there was some left over, it would become scones or muffins or something with a ginger snap crust. As it turns out, I have 2 cups in the fridge. That's just a tip from me to you, if you have more like 2 pounds of squash and a sweet tooth.

1 half pound of good smoked gouda cheese--preferably not the cheese-foodesque stuff with the brown rind--shredded
Half a brick of firm tofu (optional, but stealth protein)
Ricotta
1 t dried sage
1/2 t dried thyme
Pepper

Mix about half the shredded gouda with the remaining ricotta. Mash the tofu and combine well. Add spices and stir. I had last year's dried sage in the cabinet and thought I'd add another layer of flava, plus a little circle-of-life kind of vibe, since the fresh sage I used is also from my garden (and sage is a perennial, as I learned to my delight this year when it reappeared).

To build the lasagna:
Spray your lasagna pan with non-stick spray (or oil it lightly). Pour a scant third of the bechamel into the bottom of the pan. Add a layer of UNCOOKED lasagna noodles. Spread a layer of the squash on top of the noodles, then the ricotta mixture, then onions and kale, then a little shredded cheese. Repeat this sequence once. Add another layer of noodles and pour the remaining bechamel over the top. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle with remaining gouda, and bake for another 15 minutes.



Some notes: I always think I'm going to love squash + pasta more than I actually do. I think this is because in theory I love all the ingredients, but in practice the combination tends to be relentlessly rich. If you have some roasted tomatoes on hand, you might add a layer of those to this recipe. I think it's missing some acidity. Also, if you find that your squash is a bit dry after roasting, you can add some milk or water to help the pureeing along. The extra moisture will help cook your noodles thoroughly. Finally, salt your lasagna layers to taste. I skipped this step and had to add it afterward.

As you've no doubt determined, I am not a kitchen pro or even really a foodie--I love food, but I only read a few food blogs these days (who has time?) and mostly just look up recipes when I need inspiration. My knife skills are decent, but kind of a moot point given that my knives are not so good. Aaaand, I have not maximized the efficiency of my workspace.

However, I do have a few tips for you, especially if you are still tentative in the kitchen.

1. Stainless steel gets the garlic stink off. I don't know about you, but much as I like cooking, I get tired of smelling like food. If you wash your hands while washing stainless steel (I usually use a knife blade--carefully--or a sink basin), the stink goes away.
2. Yes, use a garbage bowl. I am no fan of eternally perky Rachael Ray, but she does have some good ideas--like keeping a designated container on the counter for all of your peelings and odds and ends.
   
3. Don't futz around peeling garlic. You probably already know this, but smashing garlic cloves with the flat of your knife splits the skin apart and makes it very easy to remove. (I am of the bash and chop school of garlic prep--can't be bothered with a press.)
   
4. Master onion chopping technique. If you are at all like me, you use onions for just about every dish you prepare. It's worth it to use chef-style onion chopping technique. Cut the onion in half through the stem nub. Cut the pointy top off. Peel the onion--much easier to do at this point. Lay the flat side of one half an onion on your cutting board, with the stem end pointing away from you. Make several parallel cuts toward the stem end, but NOT all the way through it. Then rotate the onion and slice across the cuts you just made. If any of this made sense and you executed it correctly, you now have diced onions. Hooray!
5. Soup is the friend of the makeshift cook. Soup is forgiving. Soup is easy to stretch, alter, experiment with, tweak. I would have almost no cuisine without soup. Tomato-based vegetable soups couldn't be easier: chop up an onion, garlic, one carrot, and one celery stalk; saute in olive oil with any dried herbs you fancy; dump in a big can of diced or crushed tomatoes; add another can of water and some chopped up root veggies; add a can or two of beans, a handful of grains, and simmer; add leafy veggies or things like zucchini, summer squash, and bell peppers toward the end for best texture. As god is my witness, you'll never go hungry again.
6. Leftovers=easy lunches. I know, it seems like a no-brainer. But if you are trying to brown bag it more often, this is a very easy way to do it. As for me, having grown up in a family of six, I have no frame of reference for cooking single servings or even two-serving meals, so leftovers are a way of life for me. I always make a bunch of everything and pack it in my Mr. Bento for the next day or two.
   
7. Avail yourself of prep bowls and prep time. Here's an example: I had to work from home this morning, so I took a little break and chopped up my mirepoix for tonight's soup and chucked it in the fridge. This will streamline things when I get home later. If I'd had a bit more time, I would've chopped a bigger batch and frozen it. When I do the rest of the soup prep tonight, I'll put the remaining vegetable ingredients in bowls as I chop them, so that they're ready to add to the pot at the right moment. This really helps if you're working in a small space.
8. Boiling water? Put a lid on it. Simple, but effective. If you're heating water and you don't have a lid on your pot, you're wasting energy and lengthening the time it takes to boil. If you're going to salt the water, wait until it's already boiling--salt raises the boiling point of water (just as it lowers the freezing point, which is why the streets are coated with it in the winter). One of the few things I remember from science classes.
   

Oh my my, oh hell yes.



In my continuing mission to use up pantry items, I decided to introduce some arborio rice to some feta cheese. I remembered an Onion Feta Risotto I made years ago, from a recipe from a Moosewood Restaurant cookbook, did a little internet scouting, and tweaked based on what I had. I am eating it right now and I have to tell you, people, it is delicious.

If you've never made risotto before, fear not! It doesn't require any special know-how--you just have to have about 20 minutes to stand in front of the stove and attend to your tender bits of rice.

Onion Feta Risotto with Spinach and Lemon
2 T olive oil + 2 T butter, or all olive oil, or all butter, if you like.
2 generous cups diced onion--Vidalia is great if you have it, but any onion will do because they are all sweet.
2-3 minced cloves garlic
1 t basil
1 t oregano
2 cups arborio rice
6-8 cups simmering vegetable broth (low or no salt). You can sub in plain water for some of this liquid, or some white wine.
1/2 to 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
A few handfuls of fresh spinach
Juice and zest of half a lemon
Black pepper

Heat the olive oil/butter in a soup pot over medium-low heat. Add garlic and herbs and saute for a few minutes. Add onions and saute over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, until wilty and translucent. Add rice and stir gently to coat the grains of rice. This is best done with a wooden spoon, so your grains don't break.

Add about a cup of your simmering liquid to the rice and stir gently and occasionally until it's absorbed--this will only take a few minutes. Repeat every few minutes until your rice is firm, tender, and delicious--about 20 minutes. The rice will look very creamy.

Remove from heat and add feta, lemon juice and zest, and spinach, stirring to melt and wilt. Top with black pepper and serve. This would be delicious with lots of green vegetables. Or chicken on the side, if you swing that way (I don't, but I always refer to chicken as "chaka khan." Just FYI.).