All Veggie Lasagna

The garden preparation began this week. Tilling the beds, working in the compost, checking the cold frames Mom uses for the early tomatoes. This year she's expanded the dried chile section again — twice as many plants as last year, because the home-dried chiles in the elk chili were noticeably better and she wants to have enough to share. She doesn't make the chili herself. She grows the ingredients and hands them to me in October like a relay baton. That's how we work.

Cole is working independently on twelve of the seventeen accounts now. I'm beginning to think about what the next stage looks like — whether he continues as an employee, or eventually takes over some of the accounts fully as his own business. That transition would take a year or two more of learning. But it's visible as a possibility, which means it needs to be part of the planning. I don't want to build something that falls apart when the person who built it isn't the one doing it anymore.

Tom Whelan met with the publisher in Bozeman Wednesday. Claire drove him. He called me Thursday from the highway — actual highway, driving himself, which I noted and kept to myself — and said it had gone well. The publisher wants to do a print run of a thousand copies, regional distribution, simple design. Tom said he'd want me to write the foreword. I said I was honored. He said: I'm asking because you know what the book is about and because your writing is good. That's the best reason to be asked for anything.

Made a spring minestrone with whatever the garden and the pantry offered — asparagus from the cold frame, canned beans, dried pasta, the last of the winter kale. The first minestrone with fresh asparagus is the signal that winter is over. I eat it every year and feel the same thing: arrival.

The minestrone gets made every year and it does what it always does — it signals arrival. But the bowl that stayed with me this week was the lasagna I put together the following night, working through what was left in the fridge after the soup: more kale, ricotta that needed using, a jar of roasted tomatoes from last fall. Tom’s call was still sitting in me, the weight of being asked for something because someone believes your words mean what you mean them to. I needed to cook something that took a little more time, a little more intention. This was that dish.

Prep Time: 30 min | Cook Time: 55 min | Total Time: 1 hr 25 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

12 lasagna noodles
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 medium yellow squash, diced
2 cups chopped fresh kale, stems removed
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Instructions

Cook the noodles. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions until al dente. Drain and lay flat on a lightly oiled baking sheet to prevent sticking.
Build the vegetable sauce. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, and bell pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes.
Add the greens and tomatoes. Stir in the kale and cook until wilted, 2–3 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, oregano, basil, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and black pepper. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens slightly.
Mix the ricotta layer. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, egg, parsley, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and a pinch of salt. Stir until smooth and well combined.
Preheat and layer. Heat oven to 375°F. Spread 1 cup of vegetable sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Lay 3 noodles over the sauce. Spread one-third of the ricotta mixture over the noodles, then one-third of the remaining sauce, then 3/4 cup mozzarella. Repeat layers twice more, ending with noodles, the last of the sauce, and the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan on top.
Bake covered. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 35 minutes.
Finish uncovered. Remove foil and bake an additional 20 minutes, until cheese is golden and bubbling at the edges.
Rest before slicing. Let the lasagna rest for 10–15 minutes before cutting. This allows the layers to set and makes cleaner slices.

Nutrition (per serving)

All Veggie Lasagna — What the Garden Hands Over When Winter Finally Lets Go