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Have Plenty Of Zucchini? Make Lasagna

Laura Carnie The Spokesman-Revie

Dear Laura: Could you please print a recipe for lasagna made with shredded zucchini? Many thanks. - Frances, Spokane

Dear Frances: Use chopped or shredded zucchini in this dish. Here’s how to choose the appropriate size of zucchini for all your favorite recipes:

A small zucchini is 4 to 5 inches long, weighs about 1/2 pound and makes about 1 cup of sliced squash.

A medium zucchini is 6 to 8 inches long and weighs about 3/4 pound and makes about 1/2 cup grated or 1-1/2 cups sliced.

Cheese-Zucchini Lasagna

Zucchini Lasagna Sauce (recipe follows)

24 ounces small-curd creamed cottage cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

2 teaspoons salt

1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves

8 ounces uncooked lasagna noodles

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Prepare Zucchini Lasagna Sauce. Mix cottage cheese, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese, the parsley, salt and oregano; reserve.

Cook noodles as directed on package; drain.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Reserve 1/2 cup sauce. Layer 1/3 each of the noodles, remaining sauce, mozzarella cheese and cottage cheese mixture in an ungreased, 8- by 14- by 2-inch or 9- by 13- by 2-inch baking pan. Repeat layers twice.

Top with reserved sauce; sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered 45 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.

Yield: 12 servings.

Zucchini Lasagna Sauce

2 cans (about 15 ounces each) tomato sauce, plain or Italian seasoned

1 (16-ounce) can whole tomatoes (with liquid)

1 (4-ounce) can mushroom stems and pieces (with liquid)

1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 medium zucchini, chopped or shredded

Heat all ingredients except zucchini to boiling, stirring occasionally; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 35 minutes. Stir in zucchini; continue cooking about 5 to 10 minutes.

Dear Laura: I try to vary our menu at home. Sometimes trying to think of new things gets to be a chore. Recently my husband requested Japanese food. I tried to make Tempura Shrimp and Vegetables. I can’t get the batter to stay on them. Even though I refrigerate it in advance, very little adheres. We don’t want a thick batter, just a light coating.

My husband has also, from time to time, requested Smoked or Barbecued Chinese Pork Tenderloin. I have tried many recipes, and none comes out like what you get in a restaurant or deli. Mine is well flavored but is always gray throughout. I would like it to be white meat with a ring of red around the outside. Thanks for any assistance you can give. - Eleanor, Newport, Wash.

Dear Eleanor: Sunset’s Oriental Cookbook offers the following advice: “There are two secrets to tempura’s light, crunchy coating. The first is the batter - thin, cold, and lumpy (the lumps help give the coating its lacy appearance). The second trick is to serve tempura immediately after cooking; the fragile coating softens upon standing.”

Scott, my son-in-law who is chef for a Japanese restaurant in Seattle, says: “Use tempura flour to coat the shrimp and vegetables prior to dipping them in the batter. The oil for frying must be at least 375 degrees; use a thermometer. The batter should be ice cold. I keep a pot of ice water with the flour to mix it fresh for each batch. The batter needs to be thin with little clumps of dry flour for it to work right.”

Your problem with the char siu (barbecued pork) may be overcooking. Choose a tender cut and dry roast to 160 degrees.

Following are recipes for the batter and pork, adapted from the Sunset book. For convenience, you may choose to substitute tempura batter mix and bottled char siu barbecue sauce/glaze; they are available in the Oriental food sections of larger supermarkets.

Tempura Batter

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons ice-cold water

1 egg

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1-1/3 cups unsifted cake flour

Combine water, egg, soda and salt in a small bowl; lightly beat together. Add 1 cup of the flour; mix just until blended. Batter will be lumpy. Sprinkle remaining 1/3 cup flour over surface of batter; stir with fork, 1 or 2 strokes. Do not blend thoroughly; most of final addition of flour should be floating on top.

Half-fill a larger bowl with ice; set bowl of batter in it to keep batter cold while you cook the tempura.

Char Siu

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons dry sherry

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder

3 quarter-size slices fresh ginger, crushed

1 pound whole pork tenderloin

Combine soy sauce, honey, sugar, sherry, salt, five-spice powder and ginger in a small pan or microwave-safe container. Heat over medium heat for 1 minute or in microwave on High power to dissolve sugar; let cool.

Marinate pork tenderloin in the sauce for at least 4 hours, or overnight; drain, reserving sauce. Place tenderloin on a rack set in a shallow pan and roast at 375 degrees, basting occasionally with reserved sauce, for 20 to 30 minutes or until meat thermometer inserted in center registers 160 degrees. Remove to serving platter and slice thinly.

Yield: 4 servings.

, DataTimes MEMO: Have a food question? Looking for a recipe? Laura Carnie, a certified family and consumer scientist and food consultant in Coeur d’Alene, would like to hear from you. Write to Cook’s Notebook, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210. As many letters as possible will be answered in this column; sorry, no individual replies.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Laura Carnie The Spokesman-Review

Have a food question? Looking for a recipe? Laura Carnie, a certified family and consumer scientist and food consultant in Coeur d’Alene, would like to hear from you. Write to Cook’s Notebook, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210. As many letters as possible will be answered in this column; sorry, no individual replies.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Laura Carnie The Spokesman-Review