Recipe #1: Organic Vegetarian Lasagne (P)

The Experience

Both the trip to the UW Student Farm and the article The Cuba Diet got me thinking of organic farming as a viable and sustainable food source. The Student Farm was rather small, yet Ann stated that it yields enough produces to supply food to all of the volunteers, and to donate a portion of the harvest to a charity organization. Cuba's switch from the mechanized farming methods imported from the USSR back to crop-growing methods involving manual labor transformed the island into a self-sustaining community, producing enough to feed a starving nation after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Both of these farming methods also use little to no pesticides, theoretically leading to a healthier, more "natural" vegetable.

Based on the readings and the activities in class, I decided to make a dish made from all organic ingredients. I decided on a vegetarian lasagne, and set out to the supermarket to gather the necessary supplies. I quickly found out that unless the organic produce is produced in your own backyard, it is not the most efficient way to obtain your food. I had to travel to three different markets to find all of the material. Addtionally, an all organic meal in Seattle is alarmingly pricey, particularly for the dairy products. In total, I spent $112 on the ingredients, which produced only one (fairly large) lasagne.

I also had some concerns about the quality of the some the produce. Because it was grown without pesticides, the spinach I used had some holes in it and seemed dry, dull colored and less appetizing in comparison its chemically treated counterparts. Similarly, the mushrooms were smaller and less appealing than the non-organic options I saw. The tomatoes were uncharacteristically dark, which lead to a slightly murky looking sauce. Other than these visual discrepancies, however, there was no other noticeable differences between the organic ingredients and those I usually buy.


I made all the components of the lasagne from scratch, with the exception of the pasta; this included a bechemel sauce and a marinara, which I had not made before. All recipes were adapted from my favorite cookbook, How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman, which presents even complicated recipes into straightforward instructions that were easy to comprehend. In the spirit of the Kaluli, we invited the neighbors over to share our food. Overall, we all rated the flavor of the dish as excellent, while appearance critiques ranged from good to very good (I rated it good). While the overall experience of preparing an organic vegetarian lasagne was a positive one, the effort involved to find the ingredients and the cost would deter me from repeating it--unless, of course, I cultivated most of the ingredients by myself. Clearly, self-sustaining farming methods work better when you practice them yourself.

The Experiment

Organic Vegetarian Lasagne (adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman)

16 oz lasagne noodles
16 oz mozzerella cheese
8 oz ricotta or cottage cheese
4 oz parmesan cheese
3 cups spinanch
3 cups mushroom marina sauce
3 cups bechemel sauce


The preparation of the finished lasagne is the easy part. Place a layer of bechemel sauce at the bottom of the pan, add a layer of noodles, a layer of marinara sauce, a layer of spinach, a layer of mozzerella and parmesan cheese, a layer of ricotta cheese, a layer of bechemel sauce. Repeat until you are sick of doing so, or you run out of pan space. Top with mozzerella and parmesan cheese (for future lasagnes, I will also add bread crumbs to this mixture for additional crustiness). Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, and at 400 degrees for 15 minutes to brown the cheese on top. Serves at least 4 with leftovers for everyone's lunch tomorrow, and probably up to 8 people.


Organic Mushroom Marinara

28 oz can of whole tomatoes
3 cups portabello mushrooms, diced
1 bunch green onion or 1 shallot (I used green onion)
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt, pepper, and sugar to taste


In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and add the onion. Saute the onions in the oil on medium heat for about 5 minutes, then add the mushroom. Saute an additional 5-7 minutes, and add the tomatoes. With a fork, smash the tomatoes in the onion and mushroom mixture. Turn the heat up to medium high and cook uncovered about 10 minutes, or until the tomatoes break down and get "saucy." Add salt and pepper to taste. I found the finished sauce to be a bit tangy, but two teaspoons of sugar balanced the acid nicely.


Organic Bechemel Sauce

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups reduced fat (2%) milk
salt and pepper

In a pan, melt the butter on a low heat. Add the flour one tablespoon at a time, mixing it into the melted butter with a fork. Once the combination forms a thick roux, add the milk and increase the heat to medium. Stirring constantly with the fork, bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and stir with a fork until it thickens. I actually added a bit more milk at this point, as I felt the sauce was too thick. Add salt and pepper to taste.