Whitesell Weeknight Staples: Cold Comfort Food

As we enter the cooler months, we tend to turn to what we call, “comfort food.” This might look like a chocolate chip cookie just out of the oven, a creamy casserole, or a warm bowl of chili smothered in all the dairy. While many comfort foods don’t fall into a category that provide great fuel to our bodies (as most are filled with processed, high carb, high fat, low protein ingredients), they do, typically, encompass family traditions, holidays, and evoke a memory. Comfort foods aren’t inherently “good” or “bad,” they merely provide more, or less nutritious value. A slice of pecan pie two days in a row from Thanksgiving isn’t going to derail your progress (whatever that may look like for you). Progress becomes derailed when the turn to comfort food continues because you’ve developed an “F-it” attitude or use food as a coping mechanism (both of which I would be honored to help you work through).

Now there’s been a fun game, almost globally, that’s happening in our own home kitchens: creating these comfort foods using more nutritious ingredients. Case in point. This lasagne. A few months ago, my friend, Jenna, sent me a text asking for this Hemsley Hemsley recipe because she forgot her book on a trip…If you aren’t familiar with the Hemsley sisters, it’s time. I have been a huge fan of theirs for years because I absolutely love their approach to food. They focus on high quality, nutrient dense veggies and protein, which in some cases (like this recipe) include good dairy – think your hard cheeses with lower lactose and on occasion fuller fat varieties. Because they, too, are busy, they are not overly restrictive in their lifestyles, and for convenience sometimes use products like coconut flour, canned beans, and soba noodles. They avoid both sugar and gluten, and emphasize nourishing meals. I adore them…

Okay back to the lasagne. So I said, “Jenna, is this really that good?” And when she exclaimed, “OMG it’s literally SO GOOD.” Well okay then, I had to try. And I have to concur, it’s like, “OMG SO GOOD.”

It’s so good that we ate it once a week for three weeks in a row. Because, as an added bonus, one 32oz container can stretch to 3 lasagnes, which means yes, zero waste! I did restock the beans because the recipe calls for 1 can of cannellinis per lasagne and it became laughable when I forgot them one week, but ended up having a can of refried beans on hand…needless to say we didn’t have taco Tuesday. All three times I have made this, as there is no “meat” on the inside of the lasagne (and we all know how important it is to prioritize protein), I sautéed ground beef or chicken as a side to add what you wanted of the meat to “top off” the lasagne.

Now it’s not that lasagne holds a sentimental place in my heart, I don’t even remember my Mom making it much growing up (Mom, if you’re reading this I recall it was ‘too much work’ LOL note: my mother is amazing inside and out she’s strong and bold and caring and always there for us, she just does not enjoy cooking), but we did have plenty of baked ziti or macaroni (which y’all is like the Italian version of American mac and cheese which I never ate therefore I really do not care for it). It was around age 8 or 9 when Mom filled me in on the best part of leftover pasta of any sort: eating it cold. And y’all. While “cold” and “comfort” aren’t usually synonymous, this, for me, is the only instance it is.

The very first week I made this lasagne, and had plenty of leftovers, I opened fridge, grabbed the Tupperware, stuck a fork into the cold, cheesy filling, and was immediately held in comfort. I hope you can find the same in this meal, hot or cold, this week.

Courgette and Cannellini Bean Lasagne
*thanks to the Standard.co.uk

Ingredients

• 3-4 large zucchinis
  
  For the ‘Béchamel’ sauce

• 9oz ricotta (I found it’s about a 1/3 of a 32oz container)

• 3oz Parmesan or pecorino, finely grated, plus extra for sprinkling

• 1 egg
  
  For the tomato sauce

• 14oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

• 2 garlic cloves

• 4oz sundried tomatoes (about 20 pieces) in oil, drained

• 3 tablespoons tomato purée

• A pinch of sea salt

• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  
  Optional

• 96/4 Ground Beef or Ground Chicken

How to:
Preheat oven to 400.

Add the ingredients for the ‘béchamel’ sauce to a food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Add the ingredients for the tomato sauce to the food processor (no need to clean out the bowl) and blend until smooth. Using a mandolin or very sharp knife, finely slice the zucchini lengthways into 3mm-thick pieces.

Spread about half the tomato sauce over the bottom of a 6×9 ovenproof dish which is at least 3in deep, as a thin layer. Top with about a third of the zucchini slices in an even layer.

Cover the zucchinis with about half the ‘béchamel’ sauce, then top with half the remaining zucchinis in an even layer. Repeat the layering with the remaining tomato sauce, zucchinis and ‘béchamel’, then sprinkle over a final layer of Parmesan to finish.

Bake for 45 minutes until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 5–10 minutes before serving.

FYI
I also didn’t have tomato paste one week and I used pumpkin instead … couldn’t tell the difference

The Deets
1 Thumb
½ Handful
½ Palm ++depending on usage of additional protein source