Ramadan Recipes: Summer Squash Lasagna with From-Scratch Egg Pasta

Mmmmm...Summer time, and the squash is growin'....

As a gardener, I love seeing my squash and zucchini plants flower, bringing glad tidings of large succulent squash. What I love even more than that, is watching my garden in Ramadan, thinking of what I can make with the fresh produce for Iftaar (after sun-down breakfast).

During Ramadan, I try not to let my day be dedicated to cooking. I know this happens a lot of us wives and mothers, but there are other great things to dedicate our energy to in the Blessed Month. Part of planning for that time is making one meal go a long way for the whole family.  Enter: Lasagna.

Whether you are making a meal for the family or a meal for guests, lasagna is sure to be a hit. Add summer produce (like tomatoes, basil, yellow squash and zucchini) and lasagna becomes a perfect way to get even the kids to benefit from seasonal produce!

On top of all that, lasagna is great to have as a left-over (It gets better in the fridge!).

In my Summer Squash recipe, I make my pasta from scratch with eggs from my backyard flock of chickens. The eggs keep the dish light and vegetarian, but also give enough protein without the need to add meat.
Feel free to substitute store-bought (preferably fresh) noodles if you are in a bind!

The pictures in this recipe are from our Ramadan Recipes cooking class that took place at our sister's weekly class. 

A special thank you to sister Aniqa, who so generously allowed us to have our cooking class in her beautiful kitchen (mashaAllah). She also took the gorgeous cover photo of the piece of the plated lasagna when I had forgotten to do so (life saver!).  Also, shout out to all the sisters who came to our Ramadan Recipes cooking halaqa and did a fantastic job making from-scratch pasta for the first time! You are all fantastic, may Allah SWT bless you !

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Summer Squash Lasagna with From Scratch Egg-Pasta

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
5 eggs
1- 32oz container of Ricotta Cheese
1- 16 oz block of Mozzarella Cheese
8 oz Grated Parmesan cheese
2 Jars of Marinara/ spaghetti sauce
2 Large Zucchini
2Large Yellow Squash
3 Tbs Dried Basil
2 tsp Dried Oregano
½ tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
Sea Salt
Black pepper
Olive Oil
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Put 2 cups of flour in a large bowl.

Make a well and crack 3 eggs into the middle. With a fork, beat the eggs (try not to get the flour in the eggs just yet).

Work dough into a smooth ball. Cover and set aside to let the dough rest.

Grate the yellow squash and zucchini.

In a clean bowl, spice your grated squash with dried basil, oregano, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt, black pepper and olive oil. Mix and set aside

In a sauce pan, add both jars of marinara. Add half a jar of water and set to simmer on low.

Now, for the Ricotta. Put the Ricotta cheese in a bowl with dried basil, black pepper and the remaining 2 eggs.

Mix thoroughly and set aside.

In a large pot, add water and bring to a boil. This is your pasta water. Since we do not add salt to the pasta, we season it when we are boiling it. Make the water "as salty as the sea" by adding about 1/4 cup of salt.

Now, add your marinated squash to the sauce pan with the marinara sauce. Cover and simmer while you start the pasta.

Now for the pasta.
Take your rested pasta dough and cut into 3 equal sections. Each section is one layer of your lasagna. Roll out each section and cut out strips of dough-- your lasagna noodles! (Be sure to dust with flour to prevent the noodles from sticking ​).

Get a separate container and add cold water. This is your water bath. Boil your pasta noodles one batch at a time until the noodles float. Wait 20 secs then remove the noodles and place them in the water bath. (This prevents the noodles from sticking to one another by removing the starch)

Don't forget to check on your simmering sauce! The grated summer squash will absorb the flavors of the sauce. It is alright if the squash isn't completely cooked. It will finish in the oven.

Now you are ready to start layering your lasagna.
Sauce, pasta, sauce then ricotta, mozzarella (grated), Parmesan cheese, noodles, sauce...

After adding the last layer of noodles, add the remaining sauce, Mozzarella cheese and generously sprinkle on the Parmesan cheese.

Cover with aluminium foil and put in the oven for 50 minutes. After 50 minutes, uncover and turn the oven up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep the lasagna in for 5 more minutes, or until the top is a golden brown.

Cut, serve and enjoy. Bismillah!

Summer Squash Lasagna with From Scratch Egg-Pasta

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
5 eggs
1- 32oz container of Ricotta Cheese
1- 16 oz block of Mozzarella Cheese
8 oz Grated Parmesan cheese
2 Jars of Marinara/ spaghetti sauce
2 Large Zucchini
2Large Yellow Squash
3 Tbs Dried Basil
2 tsp Dried Oregano
½ tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
Sea Salt
Black pepper
Olive Oil

Steps:​

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit
2. Place 2 cups of flour in a large bowl. Make a well.
3. Crack 3 eggs into the well, and beat with a fork.
4. With you hands, begin kneading the flour and eggs into a dough. Pasta dough is a bit tough, so be patient. Slowing work the other cup of flour into the dough. If kneading becomes hard, feel free to sprinkle a little water on the dough to moisten it.
5. Once dough has come together, begin kneading on a clean surface until dough is smooth and uniform in consistency.
6. Form dough into a ball, put in bowl and cover with a towel.
7. In a large pot, bring water to a rolling boil. Add about ¼ cup of salt to the water. This will salt the pasta as it cooks.
   
   
   
8. Using a grater or food processor, grate the zucchini and yellow squash.
9. In a bowl, spice the grated squash and zucchini with 1 Tbs of Basil, 1 tsp oregano, ½ tsp Red Pepper flakes, 1 tsp sea salt, ½ tsp Black Pepper and 2 Tbs of Olive oil. Mix and set aside.
10. In a large sauce pan, empty both jars of marinara sauce. Add about half a jar of water. Stir and bring to a simmer.
11. In a clean bowl, add the cottage cheese,2 eggs, 2 Tbs Basil and ½ tsp Black Pepper. Mix thoroughly and place to the side.
12. Add squash to the simmering sauce, and mix. If sauce looks too thick, add a cup of water. Cover and keep on low.
13. Grate block of Mozzarella cheese. Set aside (in the fridge).
14. On a clean surface, place the rest dough ball and cut into 3 equal sections. These sections are each layer of the lasagna.
15. A section at a time, roll out the dough to about 1 to 2 cm thickness. Dust with flour as needed. (This is not an exact science, so as thin as you can get it without it tearing.)
16. If the dough gets too hard to roll, pick it up with your hands and gently stretch the dough by tugging on either side of the dough evenly.
17. Once dough is in a thin sheet, cut out 3 to 4 inch strips of dough. These are your noodles. They do not need to be perfectly squared off because they are going to be layered.
18. Place the cut strips on a dry, floured surface until its time to boil. Repeat with each section of dough.
19. Get a large bowl or pan, fill with cool water and place on counter next to stove. This is the cool water bath that prevents the lasagna from sticking to each other once it has been boiled.
20. With salted water at a rolling boil, add one 3 to 4-strip batch of pasta. Cook until pasta rises to the top of water. Wait about 20 seconds, then gently remove pasta with tongs and place in cool water bath.
21. Cook the remaining batches of pasta, making sure to place them in the water bath once they are finished.
22. Now the layering:
    1. Spread roughly ¼ the amount of sauce-squash mix at the bottom of a baking pan.
    2. Add the pasta, slightly overlapping each noodle until the bottom of the tray is completely covered.
    3. Add another ¼ of the sauce on top of the pasta.
    4. Spread half of the ricotta cheese mixture over the sauce.
    5. Sprinkle 1/3 the Mozzarella over the Ricotta.
    6. Sprinkle Parmesan over that.
    7. Add another layer of noodles. Sauce, the other half of the Ricotta, 1/3 of the Mozzarella, more Parmesan.
    8. Add the last layer of pasta. Cover with the remaining sauce, the last 3rd of the Mozzarella and then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
23. Cover Lasagna with aluminum foil and cook for 50 minutes.
24. After the Lasagna has cooked for 50 minutes, uncover it and turn the oven to 450 degrees for 5 minutes, or until the top of the lasagna is a golden brown.
25. Take lasagna out of the oven and let rest for 20 minutes before cutting. (You could eat it immediately, but the layers will not have set. Still takes good though!)
26. Cut into squares and serve with a salad, or on its own.
27. Say Bismillah and enjoy!