Happy Halloween!

DAILY RECIPE:
Lasagne


Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cups cooked beans (red or brown, canned or home-cooked), drained and coarsely chopped
• 4 cups tomato purée or 2 cups tomato sauce and 2 cups tomato purée
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 3/4 pound (approximately) uncooked lasagne noodles (white or whole-wheat)
• 2 cups part-skim ricotta
• 8 ounces part-skim mozzarella, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Preparation

1. Prepare the sauce by heating the oil in a medium saucepan and sautéeing the garlic and onions for a minute. Add the chopped beans, and cook the mixture, stirring it, for several minutes longer. Add the tomato purée (or sauce and purée), oregano, basil, and pepper. Bring the sauce to a boil, and simmer it for 5 minutes.

2. To assemble the lasagne, spread a thin layer of the bean sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking pan or shallow casserole. Arrange a layer of noodles along the bottom of the pan to cover the sauce in such a way that they touch but do not overlap. You should use about a third of the noodles. Cover the noodle layer with half the ricotta, half the mozzarella, and one-third of the remaining sauce. Repeat with a layer of noodles, ricotta, mozzarella, and sauce. Finish off with layers of the remaining noodles and sauce. Then sprinkle the Parmesan on top.

3. Cover the pan tightly with foil. Bake the lasagne in a preheated 350° oven for about 1 hour or until the pasta is cooked. If there is too much liquid remaining in the pan, remove the foil and bake the lasagne for another 10 to 15 minutes.

DAILY FYI:

Floss and brush. Periodontitis is a class of diseases affecting the tissues that support the teeth. A recent New York Times article suggests that periodontal disease may also precipitate health problems elsewhere in the body. Heart disease, diabetes, pneumonia and premature births have all been connected to the infection caused by periodontitis. Prevent periodontitis with daily brushing and flossing.