Deconstructed Lasagna

My sister was out of town and my brother-in-law had a business dinner, so I went over to cook dinner for my nephew Cameron the other night.  He has Type 1 diabetes, so I wanted to fix him a hearty, kid-friendly meal that would also help keep his blood sugar in check.  Whether you have type 1 diabetes, type 2, or no diabetes, we all need to keep our blood sugar balanced.  They key to this is to start with a healthy fat coupled with a quality, lean protein and add some complex carbs.

So with this in mind, and the knowledge that my sister's cleaning woman was coming the next day, I decided on a one pot meal: a deconstructed lasagna.  I can be a real tornado in the kitchen, but I needed to keep it clean (for Rosa's sake), so I turned to my favorite kitchen pal, the cast iron skillet.  I can start my meal on the stovetop and then finish it off in the oven.

I started out with some olive oil in the skillet (healthy fat) and added grass-fed ground beef (quality, lean protein...remember that's the foundation for the blood sugar thing).  Then the first complex carbs (the final component in the blood sugar balancing act), onions and garlic (lots of it!).

When the meat is nicely browned (you can use ground turkey, pork or chicken in this, whatever you like) and the onions are soft, I added some basil and oregano, a ton o' tomatoes (canned, since the season is gone....sigh) with their juice and some part-skim ricotta.

Now here's where I made a little mistake.  The last time I fixed Cameron dinner, he inquired about one of the ingredients, either the mushrooms or the spinach.  As in "Are those mushrooms?" with a 15-year-old's snarl.  I simply said, "Yes, and they're good."  Turns out I think he asked about the spinach, because when he saw this dish he said (with the same snarl), "Is that spinach?"  Again, I said, "Yes, and it's good."  To which he scrunched up his face and said, "I can't eat spinach."  Not that he's allergic (he wishes!), but he thinks he doesn't  like it (along with most veggies, I later found out).  Whatevs!  Even if I knew he didn't like spinach (I blame his poor communication skills more than my poor memory), I'd still throw it in there... maybe just not so much.

Anyway, add the spinach (mushrooms, too!), and stir away until the spinach starts to wilt.  Then take some no boil lasagna noodles (I know, a refined carb - bad!- but I only used about 4 sheets for the entire dish, and it easily serves 4-6 people, so you're not getting nearly as much as in a traditional lasagna, so shush), break them into pieces, and bury them in the skillet under all the juicy goodness.

OK, so now I decided to make it a 2 pot meal, but you don't need to.  You could top it with mozzarella slices at this point and call it a day.  But I got the idea to make a little béchamel, like in my mom's famous lasagna.  So I made a roux (equal parts fat and flour - some people use more fat than flour, but this is how I was taught, and it works for me), whisked in some milk, added a little salt and nutmeg and let it hang out until good and creamy-thick.

I drizzled some of the béchamel over the mixture and tossed a few small slices of mozzarella on top.

Pop it in the oven for about 12-15 minutes until deliciously bubbly and the noodles are soft.  Take it out and hit it with some crushed red pepper flakes.  Let it stand for another 10 minutes before cutting into it.  This was another "Dang!" moment.  So flavorful, so oooey-gooey good.  This is comfort food at it's best, my friends.  And a whole lot easier than making a traditional lasagna.  I even got a mumbled, "Thanks, Aunt Suzie, that was really good."  High praise from a 15 year old who just wants to get back to his video game as quickly as possible.  I'll take it.

Go on, you know you want to....

Deconstructed Lasagna
Serves 4-6

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 lb. grass-fed ground beef
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
pinch each: sea salt and freshly ground nutmeg1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
1 28-oz can whole tomatoes, and their juice
1 15-oz can diced, fire roasted tomatoes, and their juice
1/2 cup part skim ricotta
4 cups baby spinach
4 no boil lasagna noodles, broken into 4 pieces each
4ozs fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

• Preheat oven to 400.
• Heat oil in large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. 
• Add beef, breaking it up with wooden spoon, and cook until just a little pink remains.
• Meanwhile start the béchamel:  melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk in flour, stirring until smooth.  Cook until lightly golden, about 4-5 minutes.  Slowly whisk in the milk (if you put it in to quickly you'll get lumps), and continue stirring until smooth.  Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often for about 8 minutes (longer is better).
• When beef is almost done (some pink still remains), add the onions and continue cooking, stirring occasionally for an additional 3-5 minutes until onions begin to soften, and no pink remains in beef.
• Add garlic, basil, oregano, salt and pepper and cook an additional 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Reduce heat to medium and add tomatoes and their juices, stirring to combine.
• Stir in ricotta.
• Fold in the spinach and cook, turning the spinach into the hot mixture, until wilted.
• Bury the broken noodles into mixture, fully immersing them in the liquid.
• Drizzle some béchamel (some or all) over the mixture and dot with mozzarella slices.
• Place skillet in oven and bake, uncovered, 12-15 minutes until bubbly and noodles are cooked.
• Remove from oven, sprinkle with red pepper flakes and let stand 10 minutes.

so glad I have leftovers.....

Cook Happy!