Nothing about me suggests I could offer an authentic version of Egypt’s national dish. For that, I patronized a local Mediterranean restaurant…until it closed.
Yet I refused for their closure to mean the end of koshari in my life. The cook in me particularly craved the spiced, vinegar-spiked tomato sauce; the runner, its carbo-centric vehicle!
Pasta, rice, lentils, chickpeas – koshari is the meal to eat before an endurance event. And as though it couldn’t get any better, it’s topped with crispy fried onions. Every flavor and texture of this beloved street food is here, all rolled-up.
Koshari-Inspired Lasagna Roll-Ups
Description
The ingredients list may look daunting - particularly for the tomato sauce. Look closely though: almost half that list is spices which are measured together and added at once. Moreover, everything under "Rice and Lentils" simply goes into a pot to be boiled and simmered.
And finally, though I love the garlicky punch from this mayonnaise-like condiment, making toum is completely optional.
makes 16-20 roll-ups
Ingredients
Toum (optional)
Tomato Sauce
Rice and Lentils
Pasta
Garnish
Instructions
Toum (optional)
-
Strain 1/4 cup (60 mL/g) aquafaba (from garbanzo beans/chickpeas under "Garnish") into a tall vessel.
Rinse and store garbanzo beans/chickpeas for Step 14. -
Peel, trim, and roughly chop garlic. Add to vessel with remaining ingredients under "Toum (optional)".
-
Using an immersion/stick blender, purée and emulsify into an opaque white, fluffy mayonnaise-like spread. Transfer to an airtight container, then refrigerate until Step 13.
Only an immersion/stick blender will work on these ratios!
Tomato Sauce
-
Finely dice onion and set aside. Measure next 5 ingredients into a small bowl, then set aside near onion.
-
Peel, trim, and mince garlic. Set aside near bowl of spices.
-
In a medium-large pot with lid, heat oil over med-hi heat. Add onion, then sauté about 6-8 min, until translucent. Add spices and sauté about 1 min, until fragrant. Repeat with garlic.
-
Add tomatoes and salt if needed. Bring to a boil while stirring, then cover and reduce heat to lo. Simmer 30 min.
-
Remove from heat and incorporate vinegar.
Rice and Lentils
-
During Step 7, while tomato sauce is simmering, combine everything under "Rice and Lentils" in a medium pot with lid. Bring to a rapid boil. Give a quick stir, then cover and reduce heat to lo. Simmer 20 min.
-
Remove from heat. Leave undisturbed 10 min, then uncover and fluff with a fork.
Pasta
-
During Steps 7 and 9, while tomato sauce and rice and lentils are simmering, preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Begin cooking noodles in a large pot according to package directions. Plan to boil 1 min less than lower end of cooking time (ex. 7 min if package says 8-10). Meanwhile, clear and cover a large space near pasta pot with parchment.
Steps 8 and 10 will likely need to to be executed during this step. -
Individually remove noodles with tongs. Work quickly but carefully laying each noodle vertically on parchment. If necessary, more parchment and noodles may be stacked.
-
Cover bottom of a large casserole dish with about one-third of the tomato sauce. Starting with closer end, spread about 1/4 cup (60 mL) rice and lentils about three-quarters up a noodle. Smear a thin layer of toum on last quarter if desired, then slowly spiral noodle from near (rice-and-lentil) end to far (toum or bare) end. Nestle seam-side down into dish and repeat until every noodle is filled and rolled. Uniformly distribute remaining tomato sauce over all roll-ups.
You will have plenty of toum leftover if you made it!
Garnish
-
If Step 1 was skipped, drain and rinse garbanzo beans/chickpeas. Evenly sprinkle onto casserole, then cover with foil. Bake 30 min.
-
Keep covered and rest 10-15 min at room temperature before topping with fried onions and serving.
Note
I love traditional koshari, yet this koshari-inspired casserole is better leftover. Sauced noodles don't clump! Simply cover this dish and refrigerate, then reheat as desired. Consume within 1-2 days.
If you anticipate leftovers, I recommend garnishing individual plates with fried onions instead of using the entire amount at once. Storing them separately prevents them from becoming soggy.
*Yes, I said "steamed garlic"!
