No-Bake Summer Lasagna

Finally, time to write. It’s been another several weeks since I’ve been able to post anything and my excuse is: graduation. I can’t believe it’s all over so quickly, and my extra week in California too, but now, I’m on my way back home for a short visit. After that, it’s off to Santiago, Chile to start my life in the real world.

While I’m sad college is over (though don’t get me wrong, I’m soo happy to be done with writing research papers) I’m excited to be moving on to something new and a whole new world of food to explore. Even though most people tell me that Chilean food is nothing to write home about and Santiago is simply not their favorite city, I’m determined to like it. I think it will be adventure to try some of the local cuisine and take advantage of the fresh produce. I was reading on Liz Caskey’s blog, Eat Wine, that she has never seen anywhere with such great fresh produce other than California. As such, when I get to Chile (even though it won’t be summer) I’ll probably be making this no-bake lasagna to make use of the tasty produce. And now that it’s summer in the States, I hope you’ll try it too.

I made this lasagna for my co-op thinking that it would be nice to have a cold meal on a hot summer day and hoping to finally try out some of the recipes on my favorite Spanish food blog, El Comidista. His recipes did not disappoint and had everyone complimenting our food.  If you'd like to see the Spanish version of this recipe, simply scroll to the end or click on the "Para ver la receta en español, haz clique aquí".

No-Bake Summer Lasagna (translated and adapted from El Comidista)

Yield: Serves 4 people
Ingredients:
12 sheets of lasagna pasta
2 large ripe tomatoes
1 zucchini
150 gr. of dried tomatoes in oil
100 gr. of ricotta cheese
50 gr. of grated parmesan
50 gr. of hazelnuts
1 handful of basil
1/2 lemon
White vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt

Directions:
1) Using a mandolin, a peeler, or a Salad Shooter like the one my co-op bought near the end of the year, cut the zucchini into super thin slices. Mix the lemon juice, with a good sprinkling of salt and pepper. Then, in a medium-sized bowl, combine the zucchini with the lemon juice and allow it to marinate at room temperature for about half an hour.
2) In a blender, combine the hazelnuts, basil, a tablespoon of vinegar, and 150ml of olive oil. Add the grated parmesan cheese and blend again. If the mixture is very thick, add a bit more olive oil until it’s about the consistency of pesto. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. 
3) Peel and cut the tomatoes into thin slices (I didn’t peel my tomatoes and it was still fine). 
4) With a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the ricotta cheese with a bit of olive oil until it is creamy. Salt to taste. 
5) Following the instructions on the package, cook the sheets of lasagna until just al dente. 
6) In a deep dish, begin assembling the lasagna. In the first layer, place four pieces of lasagna side by side and cover with half of the ricotta cheese. On top, place half of the zucchini, tomato, and sun dried tomatoes in pieces. Drop a bit of the pesto sauce on top in small dollops. Cover with another layer of lasagna sheets and repeat the above steps. Finish with a layer of lasagna sheets and cover with more pesto and some sun dried to tomatoes. Serve at room temperature.

Orange Ricotta Cookies with Dark Chocolate

Ahh! I have completely broken my promise to myself to post once a week this quarter! I can hardly believe the time has flown so quickly though! I have now cooked so many things that I have a backlog of recipes. No promise I’ll post once a week until the quarter ends, but here’s a super tasty cookie recipe after a long hiatus.

Several weeks ago, when my co-cook, Laura, and I started planning a menu for our previously mentioned picnic meal, I knew that I wanted to make Pasta Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes as my centerpiece. For dessert, I also knew I had to make something delicious and portable because, after all, you're more likely to take a cookie on a picnic than a rack of cupcakes or a pie.  So I dug up my list of cookies to make and ran across these amazing Orange Ricotta cookies with dark chocolate drizzle.  Just the name of these cookies was enough to elicit oohs and awws from the people who passed through the kitchen.

What's more, I was able to use local ingredients to make them. And when I say local, I mean outside our front door. Fortunately for me, my house boasts both an orange tree and a lemon tree simply laden with fruit this quarter. It was an awesome resource for our entire picnic meal and especially great for these light, summery cookies. As an aside, this recipe is great for a crowd, in fact just one recipe made enough cookies for my entire house of 40 so if you’re making for fewer people I suggest halving this recipe. Also, this recipe works with all kinds of citrus fruits so if you don’t have oranges but have lemons or grapefruits, don’t sweat it, just use those instead!

Orange Ricotta Cookies (lightly adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod)

Yield: 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 orange, zested

Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 375º F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. 2. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Whisk until ingredients are combined. Set aside.
3) In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using a hand mixer, combine butter and the sugar.  Beat the until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated.  Add the ricotta cheese, orange juice, and orange zest.  Beat to combine.
4) Stir in the dry ingredients. Spoon the dough (about 1 tablespoon for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

Orange Glaze
Ingredients: 
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 cup chopped dark chocolate, melted

Directions: 
1) Combine the powdered sugar and orange juice in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.
2) Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread.
3) Let glaze harden for about five minutes. Using a plastic bag with a small hole cut in the corner or a pastry bag, drizzle cookies with dark chocolate stripes.