Cooking Pasta Part I - A Dominican Lasagna in Mexico (recipe)

After a short, stress-free day at work, I brewed myself a nice cup of chamomile and lavender tea, tuned in to NPR’s Fresh Air podcast, and whipped up a lasagna. This, I call meditation in motion.

I am not really sure how lasagna became a staple of the Dominican diet. It’s actually a staple of Dominicans in New York. From my childhood in the Dominican Republic, I recall people talking about lasagna as one of the most popular dishes at dinner parties thrown by the very rich – I had never seen nor tasted one. All I knew is that it was fancy, and therefore, a very expensive dish to make. Not too mention a bit weird, right?

In the late 70’s, as thousands of poor Dominican folks immigrated to the United States, mostly to New York, lasagna-making became accessible to everyone thanks to the easy availability of so many cooking ingredients at relatively inexpensive prices. These Dominicans were ready to bask in the grandeur of being able to afford lasagna in their newly-adopted land.

I moved to New York in the 80’s, a teenager not that interested in food though my mom made sure that she served her now world-famous lasagna frequently. Her signature lasagna is made with ground turkey and lots of fresh vegetables. Since I can remember, her lasagna is served in every special ocassion including thanksgiving, christmas, and birthdays.

So, what is a Dominican lasagna? I have no idea! A good American friend of mine used to say that any self-respecting Dominican girl in New York must be able to make a mean lasagna…he was right! My mom used to size up my brother's Dominican girlfriends by the quality of their lasagnas. Anyway, I have invented my own recipe mostly from the memory of my palate after having enjoyed them so much living under my mom’s roof.

Now that I live in Mexico and have taken up cooking as a hobby, my Dominican lasagna has caused quite a stir amongst friends and acquaintances; some have even suggested that I market it. I’m calling mine a Dominican-American lasagna because it’s influenced not only by all the versions I’ve had in the Dominican community but also by all the ones I’ve tasted in notoriously Italian neighborhoods in New York and Boston. I've also had them in Italy. In making this dish, there’s a lot of room for creativity and I really encourage experimentation.

My lasagna is definitely “rustica” and it has a sweet and hearty flavor…so without much ado, here’s the recipe (serves 4 very large or 6 medium sized portions):

Ingredients (in order of appearance):
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 large cloves of garlic diced or crushed
- ½ cup white or yellow onions
- ¼ cup celery, diced
- 3 plum tomatoes, very ripe, chopped
- 1 tbsp oregano (preferably fresh), chopped small
- 6 fresh basil leaves, chopped small
- 3 fresh sage leaves, chopped small
- 1 medium carrot, thinly sliced,
- 1 medium pear squash or chayote, cubed medium (if not available, use more carrots and zucchini)
- 1lb ground beef, lean (or turkey)
- 1 medium zucchini, cubed medium
- 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
- ½ cup of red wine (I use port)
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp baby capers
- Salt and pepper to taste

- Lasagna noodles – I like the Barilla 20-minutes pre-cooked noodles
- 2-3 cups of pasta sauce – I either make my own or buy a jar of Classico or Barilla Tomato Basil sauce
- 1 cup ricotta cheese (requesón in Mexico)
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese (adobera o oaxaca in Mexico)
- ½ cup parmesan cheese (cotija in Mexico)

Step 1 – Make the filling:

1. In a large sautee pan, heat up the oil then add the onion, garlic, and celery. Sautee and stir until lightly brown.



2. Add tomatoes, herbs, and some salt and pepper. Stir until tomatoes cook down and start to make a paste.



3. Add carrot and pear squash then sautee, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes.



4. Add the meat, crumbling it up with your hands but leaving some big chunks. Let it cook, stirring occasionally until it stops looking red.



5. Add the zucchini and mushrooms.



6. Add the wine, Worcestershire sauce, and capers.



7. Let the liquids simmer, stirring occasionally, until the alcohol cooks down a bit.



8. Taste the meat filling and see if you need to adjust the flavor.



9. If you plan to bake the lasagna, preheat the oven at 225°F.
   

Step 2 – Assemble it!

1. Spread the bottom of a medium-size square Pyrex dish with a little bit of pasta sauce and one teaspoon of olive oil. You can use any other type of glass dish that is safe for baking.



2. Line the bottom with a layer of noodles.



3. On top of the noodles, spread one cooking spoon full of the meat filling.



4. Evenly spread 4 heaping tablespoons of the tomato sauce.



5. With your hands, crumble up and spread 1/3 of the cup each of the ricotta and mozzarella cheeses.



6. Repeat steps 2-5 to make another layer.



7. Add the last layer of noodles.



8. Spread the more sauce of top, making sure some drops down on the side (inside) of the dish since the noodles need the moisture.



9. Add the remaining of the crumbled up cheeses.



10. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese on top.



11. If you have any meat left-over, you might want to save and use it as a base for a Bolognese-like sauce.
    

Step 3 – Bake it and eat it!

1. At this point you can cover and freeze for later or bake it now.



2. To bake, put in the oven at 425°F for 20 to 30 minutes depending on how brown the top gets. You might want to cover it at the beginning to get keep it nice and moist.



3. When done, let it sit for about 10-15 minutes to cool.



4. Serve with yummy warm bread and a side salad.



5. Enjoy!
   

If you plan to make the sauce, here’s what I do:

Ingredients:
- 3 cloves garlic, large, oven roasted then diced
- 5 basil leaves, whole
- Fresh oregano and/or rosemary to taste
- ½ medium onion, chopped
- 8 plum tomatoes, very ripe
- 2 cups of water or chicken stock
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- Salt and pepper to taste

To make the sauce:

1. Mix all the ingredients in a medium saucepan.



2. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally.



3. Boil on high to medium heat for 30 minutes.



4. Taste to see if it needs salt, pepper, and sugar.



5. If you’re pressed for time, you can mash the tomatoes down a bit while they’re cooking. I like my sauce a little chunky and watery.