Solar Pepperoni Reversible Lasagna

Solar Pepperoni Lasagna Also Works for Vegans

Don't laugh. We've all either seen or worn those reversible coats, scarves, what-have-you. Well, take the pepperoni out of this lasagna and it's a perfect vegan meal! The veggies and sauces are binders without meat content to keep it versatile. This was a mix-match of last year's eggplant and tomato-pepper sauces and some fresh store-bought ingredients. Choosing your own meat content for this meal would change the name but that's okay, just make sure it's pre-cooked before adding to the lasagna.

Whenever you're going to make something that requires layering or using lots of ingredients, setting everything out before you begin (mise en place) keeps the chance of leaving a special ingredient out of your dish to a minimum. You want to be able to focus on the preparation without wondering if there's anything missing.  So, here's mine for the pepperoni lasagna. You'll see double-stacking because there's alot and I needed to get them all together for the picture. Besides, the point is to have the ingredients available.  Open solar oven for pre-heating.

Putting Pepperoni Reversible Lasagna Together
The following ingredients were used in my pepperoni lasagna: lasagna noodles, water, tomato/pepper sauce (I froze some from my garden last year. If you don't have any, 2 cans of chopped tomatoes with green peppers will work just fine.) Add 1 Tablespoon minced garlic to tomato sauce mixture. For your layering, finely chop 1 medium eggplant and celery hearts; thinly slice 1/4 cabbage head, 2 small onions, 2 plum tomatoes, 6-8 medium radishes, celery leaves and Italian parsley; 1 Tablespoon unchopped pumpkin seeds.

To make the cheese sauce, combine 8 ounces small curd cottage cheese, two eggs, 6 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese, 6 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese, 1 teaspoon sweet basil, 1/2 teaspoon ground oregano, 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley, 1/2 teaspoon ground fennel, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon stevia.  Also shred 2 ounces each of the cheddar and mozzarella cheeses; set aside for final topping.

Lasagna noodles:  bring 2 quarts of water plus 1 teaspoon salt to a boil, add dry lasagna noodles, return to boil, cover and turn off heat; set aside. I usually pre-check how many noodles I'll need by layering them in my pan before cooking. When you are ready to use the noodles in your lasagna layers, they will not be totally cooked but will be pliant. Spread about 2 Tablespoons of olive oil in a rectangular pan, before placing noodle in your casserole, coat each side with the olive oil. Add a bottom layer of noodles, then start your lasagna layering.

You're going to want to finish with the tomato sauce mixture over the last layer of noodles, topped with cheese. Divide other ingredients so that you have at least two full layers in the following order: noodles, tomato sauce, pepperoni slices, sliced cabbage, radishes, onion, chopped celery, pumpkin seeds, teaspoon of chopped celery leaves and Italian parsley. Then add a layer of the your cheese mixture. Picture shows layers just before celery, parsley, and cheese mixture. Repeat layers, topped with a final layer of noodles, tomato sauce, and shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese.  

I'm going to be using an oven bag with the casserole so I decided to break some wooden kebab sticks into four equal pieces of approximately 3 inches in length to keep the bag above the top of the lasagna.  Carefully place pepperoni lasagna in oven bag and seal. Used SolarWear(tm) for easy transport and placement.

Place in 275° solar oven and bake for at least one and a half hours. Conventional oven - 7500 BTUs; solar oven - FREE!

The Pepperoni Reversible Lasagna comes out looking great, but if you want a more crispy top, place under broiler for two or three minutes or use a kitchen torch.