Vegetarian Recipes: Black Bean Lasagna

Black Bean Lasagna

Bean Layer:
2 cups dried black beans, rinsed, soaked at least 6 hours, and drained
1 large red bell pepper, roasted, peeled and seeded
1 large yellow bell pepper, roasted, peeled and seeded
3 mild jalapeno peppers, roasted, peeled and seeded
1 large red onion, quartered
4 garlic cloves, halved lengthwise
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
12 very ripe, fresh medium tomatoes or Roma plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 Tbs freshly grated lemon rind
1 Tbs Mexican seasoning blend or 1 Tbs chili powder and 2 tsp ground oregano
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
Kernels from 4 ears fresh corn

Cheese Layer:
2 cups cottage cheese
9 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/3 cup plain yogurt

Remaining Assembly:
1 1-pound package lasagna noodles
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Put the beans in a deep saucepan with water to cover to twice their volume. (If canned, rinse and set aside.) Bring the water to a boil, cover, and let simmer for 1 hour. Let cool, then drain.

In a food processor or blender, process the red, yellow, and jalapeno peppers, red onion, garlic and cilantro leaves to finely dice. Take care not to over-process into a paste. (Basically, I just chopped them up, not owning a food processor.)

Place the tomatoes in a large skillet and heat gently, stirring to break them down. Add the pepper mixture and stir to blend. Sprinkle with lemon rind, Mexican seasoning (or chili powder and oregano), cumin and cayenne. Mix well. Cover and let simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. (Since I used cold canned beans and corn, I added them before simmering.)

Transfer the tomato mixture into a deep saucepan or Dutch over, and stir in the corn and beans. Cover and let simmer 5 minutes. In a medium bowl (ok, this required what I consider a large bowl, just to warn you), combine the cottage, Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses. Add the yogurt and stir to blend. Prepare the lasagna noodles according to package directions. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spoon one-fourth of the black bean mixture over the bottom of a 12x8x3-inch baking pan. Cover with a layer of lasagna noodles. Spoon another fourth of the bean mixture on top and cover with a layer of the cheese mixture. Sprinkle with a third of the Parmesan cheese and cover with another layer of noodles. Repeat. Cover with a final layer of noodles. Top with the remaining bean mixture and sprinkle with the last of the Parmesan. (I used a 13x9x2 pan, and ended up with one bean layer, topped by noodles then cheese, then another bean layer and the Parmesan. If you have it, try to use the deeper pan - you'll end up with leftover parts if you don't.) Cover with foil and bake 50 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking 7 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and brown. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

8 - 10 servings.

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