Crumb-y Green Lasagna
#WhyWasteWednesday
#WhyWasteFood Wednesday is a call to action to take those almost-in-the-trash food items and turn them into delicious meals!
At least 1.3 billion tons of food is lost or wasted every year around the world—in fields, during transport, in storage, at restaurants, and in our homes! If each individual made a call to action to stop their own food waste–the planet benefits, we have less hunger, and your own grocery bills will go down through the savings.
UN Food & Agriculture
Scraps: Soured Milk, Overripe Tomatoes, Stale Bread, Wilted Greens
Crumb-y Green Lasagna
Fall bounty can get away from you and this recipe is a perfect chance to play catch-up. Preserve your fall garlic crop by confiting it and storing it in the fridge. Tired, blemished tomatoes can be trimmed to make a hearty sauce. Accumulate soft tomatoes in the freezer until you have enough to make a sauce. Wilted and neglected greens from spinach, chard, or kale can be sautéed into new life as a filling for this classic-style lasagna.
Ricotta
Ingredients
- 12½ cups (3 L) soured milk, 3.25%
- 1½ cups (350 ml) cream, 35%
- 2 lemons, juice and zest
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 tsp (12 g) sea salt
Directions
- Heat the soured milk and cream in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat, stirring often so it does not scorch on the bottom.
- Bring to 195°F (90°C) and stir in the lemon juice and zest.
- Remove from heat and stir for 2 minutes until curds form.
- Line a large strainer with a clean towel or a piece of cheesecloth that is 4 layers thick.
- Pour the mixture into the strainer and let sit for whey to drain for 1 hour.
- Reserve whey for future use.
- When the ricotta has drained, transfer to a small bowl and cover.
- Refrigerate for 2 hours. When cool, mix the ricotta with the eggs and sea salt. Ricotta can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.
Green Confit
Ingredients
- 12 large cloves garlic, peeled
- 1¼ cup (300 ml) grapeseed oil
Directions
- Submerge the garlic cloves in a small pot filled with grapeseed oil
- Bring to a low simmer and reduce heat to lowest possible level. Simmer until garlic is soft when pierced with a fork, about 1 hour.
- Remove from heat and cool. Store the garlic in the oil and refrigerate immediately until ready to use. Use within a few days of preparing.
Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ cup (125 ml) olive oil
- ½ yellow onion, peeled and finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 2 lbs (900 g) tomatoes (can be spotty
- and soft), bad spots removed, chopped
- 1 tbsp (2½ g) fresh thyme leaves,
- removed from stems
- 1 tbsp (1½ g) rosemary, chopped
- 2 tsp (12 g) sea salt
- 1 tbsp (7 g) smoked paprika
Directions
- Heat the olive oil on medium low in a medium-sized saucepan, and add the onion and garlic.
- Cook for 5 minutes until translucent.
- Add the tomatoes, herbs, sea salt, and paprika.
- Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, about 30 minutes.
- Adjust seasoning to taste and set aside.
Olive Oil Crumb
Ingredients
- 2 slices stale bread
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil
- 1 pinch sea salt
Directions
- Remove crusts from the bread if they are very hard.
- Blitz bread in a food processor until crumbly.
- Pour into a bowl and dress with the olive oil and sea salt.
- Spread on a small sheet pan and toast in a 300°F (150°C) degree oven until dry.
- Stir every 2 to 3 minutes to ensure even cooking.
- Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Lasagna Assembly
Ingredients
- 8 cups (240 g) wilted greens such as kale,
- chard, spinach, washed and dried
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
- 4 cups (1 L) tomato sauce (on previous page)
- 12 pieces cooked lasagna noodles
- 2¾ cups (687 ml) ricotta (recipe above)
- 12 cloves garlic from garlic confit
- (on previous page)
- 1 cup (225 g) mozzarella cheese, grated
- 1½ cups (300 g) pecorino cheese, grated
- Olive oil crumb (recipe above)
Directions
- Sauté the greens in the olive oil.
- In a 9×9-inch (22 cm x 22 cm) non-reactive pan, layer ⅓ of the tomato sauce on the base of the pan.
- Top with ⅓ of the lasagna noodles, covering with an even layer.
- Top with ½ of the ricotta mixture and 12 cloves of garlic, removed from the garlic confit.
- Layer another ⅓ of the lasagna noodles on top.
- Add another ⅓ of the tomato sauce and top with the final ⅓ of lasagna noodles.
- Top with the remaining ricotta and then sautéed greens.
- Finish with the remaining tomato sauce and sprinkle both cheeses and olive oil crumbs on top.
- Bake in a 375°F (190°C) oven for 45 minutes until hot throughout.
- Divide into 6 portions and serve with crusty bread or a green salad.
If you have a recipe you would like to share with us for #whywastewednesday, please email christian.bearden100@gmail.com.
If you would like to make an impact on reducing food waste and hunger help us grow our food rescue operations: Donate
#whywastewednesday #foodfindersinc #foodrescue #stopfoodwaste #reducehunger #improvenutrition #helpfoodinsecurecommunities #climatechange #foodupcycling #HelpEndHunger #Volunteer #Charity #fightinghunger #rescuingfood #Donate #makeanimpact
The scrapsbook. IKEA. (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2022.
Recent Comments