Gluten Free Spinach, Escarole, and Goat Cheese Lasagna
by:
Sometimes I get a bit discouraged going gluten-free. So I wanted to indulge myself in something a bit heavier than I normally eat, but like all things I cook, a twist on a classic. I love lasagna, but I was really in the mood for greens. Also, I personally am supposed to be staying away from cow dairy. So I came up with an idea to make a Spinach, Escarole, and Goat Cheese Lasagna with Tinkyada's gluten-free brown rice pasta. Not only did the pasta turn out such a perfect consistency you'd never guess it was gluten-free, but the dish as a whole was one of my favourite things I've ever made. Sweetness and tang from the goat cheese, that bitter yet sweet taste from the greens, the acidity of a tiny bit of homemade tomato sauce, and the nutty bite of the pine nuts all meld together into one purely delicious and indulgent lasagna. Lasagna can involve quite a bit of prep work, especially if making it from scratch. And of course you can use store bought tomato sauce, or even make this with regular, non gluten-free pasta. Don't let the prep time scare you. A lot of love goes into making a great lasagna but the time that goes in is rewarded in flavor.
ingredients
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serves: 6-8
1/2 box (5 oz) of brown rice pasta lasagna (I use Tinkyada)
3/4 lb French Goat Cheese
1 egg
1/2 cup of fresh basil, chopped
1 tbsp of fresh thyme, off the stems
2 tbsp bunch of fresh rosemary, off the stems
2 parsley of fresh parsley, chopped
3-4 tbsp of olive oil (plus a dash extra)
dash of pepper
dash of red pepper flakes
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bunch of escarole
1 bunch of spinach
1/2 cup of toasted pine nuts
4 vine ripened tomatoes
dash of salt
1 tbsp Brown Rice Flour
Servings Per Recipe: 6
Amount per Serving
Calories: 441
- Total Fat: 28.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 10.2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Cholesterol: 53.9 mg
- Sodium: 749.9 mg
- Total Carbs: 31 g
- Dietary Fiber: 5.8 g
- Sugars: 4.1 g
- Protein: 19.1 g
preparation
1. Lasagna is all about building layers so I’ll break this down by each layer. Trust me it’s not as complicated as it sounds:
2. For the pasta, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
3. Add the brown rice pasta. You want to cook it about 5 minutes less than you normally would. So it’s still hard in the middle but it’s also pliable.
4. Once it’s done, drain the water and rinse the pasta in cold water. This is important for brown rice pasta. It stops the cooking and maintains the texture.
5. Set it aside, not overlapping if possible because it will get a little sticky.
6. For the cheese, in a mixer, food processor, or just in a bowl if you have neither, mix the cheese and the herbs.
7. Add a dash of olive oil.
8. Add a dash pepper and a few shakes of red pepper flakes.
9. Taste and adjust the amounts of the herbs, olive oil, and seasoning if need be. A
10. Add the egg and mix til evenly distributed. The cheese should be spreadable and creamy.
11. In a skillet, heat olive oil (enough to coat the onions, 1-2 tbsp).
12. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring to keep from browning until translucent and tender.
13. Let cool for a little then add it to the cheese.
14. For the spinach, escarole, and pine nuts, soak the spinach in water to remove the sand.
15. Wash the escarole and break into smaller pieces.
16. To blanch the spinach, boil a pot of water. You’ll also need a large bowl of ice water. Once the water boils, add the spinach. Cook for about 30 seconds or just til the spinach turn even brighter green.
17. Pull out of the boiling water (save water to blanch tomatoes later) in put in the ice water to stop the cooking. Once cooled drain and lie out on a towel to dry a bit.
18. For the escarole, in a skillet heat olive oil. Sautee the escarole about 1-2 minutes, til wilted but still bright green. Set aside.
19. In same skillet, toast the pine nuts (no extra olive oil needed…can even use clean skillet with nothing). Pine nuts go from untoasted to burnt with one glance away…it takes a little while to get them toasted, but once they hit that point they burn pretty quickly. So keep an eye on them and keep them moving a little. Set aside.
20. For the tomato sauce, more blanching. In large pot, boil water. Add the tomatoes for about a minute. Take out and put into ice water.
21. Once cooled, you can peel off the skins.
22. In a skillet, add olive oil and the tomatoes. Mash them with a fork or a potato masher. Add salt to taste. When cooked down a little bit, add about a tbsp of brown rice flour to thicken. Set aside
23. To assemble, preheat your oven to 350˚F.
24. Drizzle a little olive oil into the bottom of the dish.
25. Use half the tomato sauce and coat the bottom.
26. Next repeat these layers three times.
27. Place a layer of the brown rice pasta.
28. Spread a third of the cheese mixture evenly over the pasta
29. Sprinkle a layer of pine nuts.
30. Place a layer of spinach.
31. Place a layer of escarole.
32. Repeat three more times and have a forth layer or pasta. Top with the remaining sauce.
33. Cover the dish in foil and cook for 30 minutes.
34. Uncover and cook about an additional 10. Test a little corner of the pasta to make sure it’s done.
35. When pasta is tender the whole dish is done (try a piece that is under a bit of sauce…the top layer will crisp up a bit and you may think it’s not done when it is otherwise)
36. Allow to cool for 5 minutes or so, then serve and enjoy!
Cooks' note:
One note on my recipes, I do all herbs and seasoning to taste and you should too. These are my estimates though. This would be great for a family meal or holiday, but the dish also tastes great as leftovers so if it's a couple people don't worry about extra!
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comments
Mommy_loves_to_cook
October 27, 2011