Vegetarian Lasagna
A meatless twist on the classic Italian comfort food.
Preparation Time:
Ingredients:
2 cups of your favorite marinara sauce
1 small zucchini or yellow summer squash, sliced
2 medium sized colored bell-peppers, preferably red or yellow, chopped small
8 ounces mini portobello mushrooms sliced (I have used sliced eggplant here instead. Also tasty.)
1 10-ounce package chopped frozen spinach, thawed, drained (I have also used chopped basil here. Tasty.)
15 ounces ricotta cheese
1 pound mozzarella, sliced thin and wide
1 cup grated Parmesan
1 package dried lasagna noodles or one recipe fresh pasta rolled into thin sheets.
Fresh basil, rosemary, oregano and parsley to taste
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine ricotta cheese and spinach in a bowl, mix well, add some chopped herbs, maybe some salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
- Spread some olive oil around the bottom of a lasagna pan. Line the bottom with noodles.
- Carefully spread a thin layer of the ricotta/spinach mixture over the noodles. Top this with slices of squash, sprinkle with chopped peppers. Sprinkle some Parmesan top of that, then top with noodles again.
- Spread another layer of ricotta/spinach mixture over that layer of noodles. Top this with sliced mushrooms and some more chopped peppers. Sprinkle with Parmesan and top with noodles.
- Pour the marinara sauce over the lot and spread it around with the back of a spoon.
- Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil or its lid if it has one and put it in the over for 45 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and arrange the mozzarella slices on top. Recover and return to the over for 15 minutes.
- Uncover your pan, sprinkle fresh herbs over the top and then return the pan to the oven to let brown for 15 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven, re-cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Then slice it like a cake and serve it up with a spatula.
Additional Comments:
Notes
If you like your lasagna meatier, add some soy crumbles or browned ground meat to each layer. Bulk Italian sausage is especially tasty.
Quick Witch Tip
No, you don't have to boil the noodles, they will boil in the sauce if you cover the baking pan with foil. If you want to boil the noodles, just make sure you don't boil them till they're done. They should still be too hard to be appetizing when you put them in your lasagna pan.
This dish is best served on the following occasions:
This is a lovely way to use the fresh harvest on a cool autumn day. Also to perk you up in the dreary winter.
This dish carries energies for the following magical purposes:
Attribution:
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