Vegetable Lasagne

I don’t typically make lasagne anymore as much as I used to.  I can’t explain why, I guess it’s just that I don’t like eating leftover lasagne for days as it would easily take my husband and I at least 3 days to finish that amount of lasagne.  But I did change my mind after eating this particular one.  I decided that this one could even be served when one is entertaining, it is that good.  Could the white wine have enhanced the flavors I wonder? 🙂

Just before Thanksgiving, we had visited our daughter in Brooklyn who had just got a puppy.  Of course we had seen pictures and videos of that sweet face, but I wanted to see it in person.  So in my usual motherly fashion, I made up some freezer meals, soups etc. and decided to take a vegetarian lasagne for the night’s meal and surprise her when we arrived.  She’s vegetarian, so was as pleased as punch when she saw it.  She had some friends over that night, so happy to say that the vegetarian lasagne definitely got the nod from all.

So just be forewarned, there’s an awful lot of dicing, chopping and cubing. But the results will be worth it, I promise.

You can use whatever veggies you have on hand. Sautéing, pouring in the wine, adding fresh herbs etc.

Time to assemble the lasagne. I put a thin layer of the sauce at the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan.

Here’s the next layer – I cooked the noodles and laid them on top of the veggies

Next, the ricotta mixture goes over the noodles.

After layering it a couple more times, end the top layer with the veggie mixture and some added parmesan.

Perfect!

• Servings: 10
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

• 10 ounces, weight lasagne noodles
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 whole onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 whole red bell pepper, diced
• 24 ounces, white mushrooms, chopped
• 4 whole yellow squash or zucchini, diced
• 1 can (28 ounce) crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup-3/4 cup white wine (you know how I pour my wine)
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 30 ounces, weight Ricotta cheese
• 2 whole eggs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 pound thinly sliced mozzarella cheese
• Extra Parmesan cheese for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook noodles according to package directions.  Drain and lay flat on a sheet of aluminum foil.
3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and garlic and cook for a minute.  Add diced red peppers and sauté for another minute or so.  Add squash and mushrooms and cook for a few minutes.  Pour in wine, add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, dried basil, oregano and stir.
4. Pour in crushed tomatoes.  Stir to combine and let simmer for 20 minutes or so.  Stir in chopped parsley.
5. In a separate bowl, combine ricotta, eggs, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.
6. To assemble, spread a little of the vegetable mixture in the bottom of the pan.  Layer cooked noodles in the pan, slightly overlapping them if necessary.  Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture on the noodles.  Top the ricotta mixture with mozzarella slices.  Spoon a little less than 1/3 of the veggie mixture over the mozzarella.
7. Repeat the layering two more times, ending with a large helping of vegetable mixture/sauce and a sprinkling of Parmesan.
8. Bake at 350 degrees, covered in foil, for 20 minutes, then remove foil and continue baking for 5-10 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to stand for 10 minutes before cutting.
9. Serve with crusty bread.