Roasted Beet Lasagna with Herbed Bechamel

Source: nytimes.com

I love beets. The traditional pickled beet that most people are familar with is a nice condiment to serve with meat and potatoes. An even better way to enjoy the beet is to roast it. Roasted beets are soft, sweet and have a nice earthy flavor. Great served simply with some butter, salt and pepper or sliced up in a salad with blue cheese and a tangy vinaigrette. The other day, when I was reading the Food and Dining section of the New York Times, this recipe for Roasted Beet Lasagna caught my eye. The following week I made it. The product was a nice, light lasagna that really highlighted the sweet flavor of the roasted beet. It was also very pretty to look at, layers of pink beets contrasting white layers of pasta and green flecks of herbs. It made for a very nice lunch or supper served with a crisp green salad made from our garden. I used homemade lasagna noodles instead of the no-cook noodles called for in the original recipe, since I find their texture and flavor to be superior to store bought noodles. I also doubled the recipe so that I could put one away in the freezer that I could pull out on a busy (or lazy) day. The only thing I would do different next time is to make 1 1/2 recipes of the bechamel sauce to make a creamier lasagna.

The Recipe:

6 medium-size red beets

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons minced shallot or onion

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 cups milk

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh herbs, like parsley, tarragon and chives

1/2 pound no-boil lasagna noodles or 1/2 recipe fresh noodles       

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

The Beets (Can be prepared the day before):

Wash and trim the beets so that they still have 1/4 inch of stems attached. This prevents the beets from bleeding out while cooking. Put the beets in a roasting pan with a little bit of water and cover with tin foil. Put the pan in a 425 degree oven and roast until fork tender, about 45-60 minutes depending upon the size of the beets you use. I did this step the day before since I had the oven on at this temp already, it also saved time the next day.  After the beets were cooked, I allowed them to cool and then stored them whole in the fridge overnight. On the day you are assembling the lasagna, cut off the ends of the cooled beets and peel them (which is much easier when they are cooked). Slice them into 1/4 inch slices.

The Herb Bechamel:

Heat oil in a medium saucepan, add chopped onion and cook until softened. Stir in the flour and cook for about 3 minutes, constantly stirring, until mixture is smooth and bubbling. Becareful not to brown the flour. Whisk in the milk. The original recipe said all at once, but I found this causes lumps, so I slowly whisked it in a little at a time. Bring milk to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, for 15-20 min until the sauce is thick and no longer tastes like raw flour. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Strain to get rid of any lumps and then add in the herbs (I used chives, thyme, tarragon and a little bit of dill from my garden) and 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese.

The Assembly:

If you are using homemade lasagna noodles like I did, precook them in boiling salted water for 60 sec (until a little firm). Remove them from the boiling water and stop the cooking process by putting them directly into a bowl of water and ice. If you are using no-cook noodles, you don't have to precook them (as their name suggests).

Oil a 9 x 12 baking dish. Spread some of the Bechamel in the bottom. Cover with some lasagna noodles. Top with a layer of beets and sprinkle with parmeson cheese. Repeat the layers. Top with a layer of lasagna covered with bechemel and parmeson cheese.

Cover with tin foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 min (noodles should be tender and lasagna should be bubbling). Uncover and bake for another 10-15 minutes to brown the top. Allow to sit for 10 min before serving.

Enjoy with a nice crisp salad and homemade garlic bread.