Home sweet homemade soul food
Lasagna is one of the oldest types pasta dishes. It therefore reminds me of this beautiful song by Celine Dion “Tale as old as time” that was the theme song for the Disney movie “The beauty and the beast”. Though in this case it’s not tale as old as time, but pasta as old as time. Or shall I rather say thyme? Hm… sorry, this was a really low hanging fruit for a dad-joke-afficionado like me.
The good news about all the recipes below is that they are fresh homemade soul food dish that will give your heart, soul and stomach joy. So it’s only the oldest pasta dish, but certainly not old at all.
History fun fact: apparently the word goes back to the latin term lasanum, which means cooking pot. The kitchen utensil that the dish was prepared in. Now you are prepared, in case you ever compete on “Who wants to be a millionaire” or “Jeopardy” and that question randomly comes up. Or maybe you just want to be one of those people who “entertain” others with “btw did you know…” kinda monologues.
So let’s not say “Pasta la vista” but “Hello food heaven”! Enjoy the recipe compilation.
The classic: Lasagna with rich beef tomato sauce and bechamel sauce
To me, lasagna tastes like home, like coziness, like belonging, as well as like family and friends. It’s one of those dishes that is best shared with many people and perfect for when you have guests and truly want to make them feel at home when they visit. One of the best lasagnas I ever had was made by the Italian dad of one of my closest friends from childhood, when we were just teenagers. It’s safe to say that it’s one of those dishes for which everyone who regularly makes it will have their own personal way of preparing it. This is my take on the classic version, which I sincerely hope you enjoy.
Il bianco: White chicken lasagna with Alfredo sauce
White chicken lasagna or lasagna bianco can be prepared in a million different ways, using all sorts of white Italian sauces. This one uses Alfredo sauce, which is my personal favorite as I can’t think of any dish that isn’t make tastier thanks to this sauce. It is prepared with rotisserie chicken. Simply because it is so boastfully flavorful that it tastes like christmas and your best birthday ever combined in one amazing day.
Low carb: Stuffed lasagna peppers
Who doesn’t love great soul food on any given day? The thing is though, sometimes you might feel like having it, but still kinda stick to your plan to eat healthier, yet also don’t feel that stuffed pepper alone would do the trick to make you go straight to food heaven. Thus, how about stuffing your pepper with lasagna – minus the pasta? Trust me, it is pretty amazing and also amazingly filling, even though it only has a fraction of the calories of traditional soul food noodle dish.
Creative: Lasagna Alfredo rolls
I am willingly admitting that I have a slight addiction to Alfredo sauce, it is just soooo tasty. This recipe for pasta Alfredo rolls with a tasty broccoli and chicken filling therefore ticks that box and also perfectly coincides with my love for lasagna in all possible varieties. Two soul food options in one, if you will. It serves 4 people as a main course. The recipe uses chicken, but vegetarians can easily substitute this by replacing the meat with 1.5 cups of sweet corn.