I love Italian food, it is true comfort food.

We need a lot of comfort at the moment and because we feel for our global neighbours in Italy as they suffer huge deprivations and sorrow, I will share some of my favourite easy Italian recipes. With love.

Vegetarian Lasagne

Note: this does take a bit of time, but we have plenty of that!

Ingredients: (vary amounts depending on size of dish)

dried wholemeal lasagne sheets (I use San Remo available at Countdown but you can of course use whatever you have on hand)

cooked brown lentils (1 or 2 cans or cook your own*) 

pasta sauce, can of chopped tomatoes, jar of passata, tomato paste, or homemade sauce.

fresh italian herbs (eg. italian parsley, marjoram, basil, thyme) or dried herbs (even mixed herbs good, just don't overdo it) 

cheese - whatever you have on hand - I use edam

parmesan (optional)

roasted root vegetables such as pumpkin, kumara, parsnip (I make extra roast veges when having them for dinner, and keep leftovers in the fridge)

1 onion or 1 leek (or both), sliced

some garlic cloves, crushed or sliced

chopped spinach or silverbeet (or use frozen spinach)

cottage cheese, ricotta, feta, cream cheese (any of these or a combination - optional)

1 or 2 egg(s)

white sauce*

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, nutmeg, cayenne pepper (both optional)

pine nuts (if you want to be fancy)

Method:

Fry onion and/or leek in some olive oil until soft, add garlic and fry a bit more. Add spinach/silverbeet and cook until wilted. Add some cottage cheese or other soft cheese if you have some available. Add egg, fresh chopped herbs, 1/4 teaspoon grated or powdered nutmeg, and some finely grated parmesan. Salt and pepper to taste. Leave aside.

Mix cooked lentils with pasta sauce (or other tomato-based options), add salt and pepper and a little cayenne if using. If you have some powdered vege stock, add here too. If you only have tomato paste, you will need to add water to get a sloppy consistency and add some herbs such as marjoram or basil. Leave aside.

Grease or oil the dish (you will need a deep dish for the layers). Put oven on to 180 degrees.

Now to assemble. Cover the base of dish with some liquid, eg. liquid from lentils mixed with tomato paste or passata.

Next put single layer of pasta sheets - break to fit size of dish if necessary.

Layer roast veges evenly over pasta, add salt and pepper to taste, and grate some cheese over this.

Add another layer of pasta sheets.

Add spinach mixture and spread evenly.

Add another layer of pasta sheets.

Add lentil mixture. 

Add another layer of pasta sheets. If your dish is becoming too full for your dish, reduce pasta layers. E.g. miss out this last pasta layer or combine roast veges layer with lentil or spinach mixture.

Add some grated cheese to white sauce when it is hot, stir well. Pour over the top of the lasagne. (If you can't be bothered with white sauce, just use grated cheese as a topping instead of last pasta layer, then cover with aluminium foil. Take foil off 10 minutes before lasagne is cooked, so cheese can brown. If you are low on milk but have some cream cheese, use 1/2 cheese sauce, briefly melt cream cheese in microwave, beat, then add to cheese sauce. You can use up sour cream too. I sometimes add an egg into this too.) Sprinkle with grated parmesan and/or pine nuts. Sliced fresh tomatoes look good on top too. 

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour or so, depending on size of dish. This freezes well.

Note: This can be made vegan by using vegan mozzarella and parmesan; soya, almond or oat milk for white sauce; and vegan feta with the spinach. Lots of added fresh herbs make this very tasty.

*1 cup of rinsed dried lentils, 21/2 cups water, 1 bayleaf if you have one, bring to boil, turn down to low, simmer for 40minutes, drain and remove bayleaf, but keep liquid. 

**easy white sauce: melt 50g butter in microwave (on full for 1 minute, covered). Add 1/4 cup plain flour and 1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried mustard powder, mix until a paste, microwave on full for 1 minute uncovered, add 2 cups of milk, stir thoroughly, microwave on full for 1 minute at a time stirring between minutes. Stop when sauce is nice and thick (usually 3 to 4 minutes). Add salt to taste. Add cheese when still hot so it melts.

Roasted Tomatoes with Marjoram

This is a very tasty dish to use up those plentiful tomatoes.

800g ripe tomatoes (plum size)

2 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced

leaves from a handful of fresh marjoram (or try thyme)

3 - 4 tablespoons olive oil

2 - 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (optional)

Heat oven to 160 degrees. Halve the tomatoes lengthwise and place cut side up in a shallow baking dish, spacing them apart. Place a slice of garlic on top of each tomato, then scatter marjoram leaves on top. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for about 30 to 50 minutes, basting tomatoes with pan juices halfway through cooking. Serve warm or room temperature.

Frittata

This is a great way to use up leftovers. I will give a basic recipe then some ideas at the end.

4 eggs

4 tablespoons milk

olive oil

1 onion, some garlic cloves

1 capsicum, any colour, or finely diced celery stick (optional)

cooked potato cut into cubes

fresh herbs such as parsley, basil, marjoram, thyme, finely cut rosemary

salt and pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese, or replace with whatever you have

I use a cast iron frypan that can go in the oven for a final grill.

Beat eggs and milk in a bowl. Add some salt and pepper.

Fry chopped onion and capsicum in some olive oil until onion is soft, then add crushed or chopped garlic and fry 2 or 3 minutes. 

Pour the egg mixture into the hot pan, quickly add potato and fresh herbs. Top with grated cheese. 

Cook on a medium heat until the sides and base look done. The top should still look a bit runny. Grill the top to finish off, then serve with a chutney, or sweet chilli sauce, and a salad. This is nice the next day too. 

I like to add cooked lentils or beans to this to make a more filling meal. Or try cold pasta instead of (or as well as) potato. Kids will like some corn kernels thrown in. Fried mushrooms and cubed feta with no grated cheese is yummy. Try spicing it up with some cayenne or chilli. Smoked paprika is very nice too.

Ricotta and Sultana Torte

Pastry (or use bought sweet pastry)

1 cup of flour

100g butter

1/4 cup cream (or full cream milk) 

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 egg yolk (optional)

Mix dry ingredients. Rub butter into flour, mix with cream (and egg yolk) until a smooth ball is formed. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Roll out and line or grease a pie dish. Refrigerate while you make filling.

Filling

1 cup ricotta (or cottage cheese, sieved)

1/2 cup cream cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

3/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornflour

3 eggs separated 

2 tablespoons cream or sour cream

1/2 cup sultanas

lemon zest (optional)

1/2 cup flaked almonds

In a large bowl, beat cheeses together, then add vanilla, sugar, cornflour, cream, egg yolks and zest of 1 lemon if using. Beat well. Add sultanas. In another bowl beat egg whites (including extra egg white if used yolk in pastry) until stiff but not dry. Carefully fold whites into cheese mixture. Pour into pie plate and sprinkle top with flaked almonds. (If you don't have flaked almonds, don't worry, just dust torte with icing sugar when it is out of the oven) Bake for about 50 minutes in a 180 degree oven.