I had a serious need for some warm comfort food on one of the coldest, windiest days in February. Lasagna is pretty easy to free style when you have just a few of the basic ingredients. I had a fridge full of veggies, a few jars of tomato sauce, and some noodles in the cupboard, I knew what I had to do.
This lasagna truly is loaded with vegetables, I even blended them into the sauce to go above and beyond. Wait and see...
Super Vegetable Lasagna
Ingredients:
1 large eggplant- peeled and thinly sliced
2 red bell peppers
1 head of garlic
1 butternut squash peeled, seeds removed, and cubed
1 zucchini
1 summer squash
1 fennel bulb (optional)
2 small onions
3 cups of thinly sliced mushrooms
1 cup of riccotta cheese
1 cup cottage cheese
3 eggs
1/4 cup of herb paste (recipe follows)
1 14oz. can of tomato sauce
1 14oz. can of diced tomatoes
handful of chopped fresh parsley
handful of chopped fresh basil
1 box of oven ready lasagna noodles
First we must prep all of the delicious vegetables:
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees
Spread the peeled and thinly sliced eggplant on a rimmed cookie sheet and sprinkle both sides of the slices with salt and pepper and olive oil. Roast in the oven until soft- about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile you can also roast the bell peppers and garlic. Slice the bell peppers in half the long way, remove seeds, and rub a small amount of oil on both sides of the peppers, place skin side down in a baking dish. Roast until the skin is black and charred- about 20 minutes. Peel the skin off the peppers and roughly shop the pepper flesh, set aside.
Slice the tip of the garlic bulb so that just a bit of each close if exposed. Pour a bit of olive oil onto bulb and wrap is foil. Roast for about 10-15 minutes.
Peel, remove seeds, and cube the butternut squash into small cubes. Spread onto a roasting sheet with a bit of olive oil and roast until soft, about 20 minutes.
Either using a fork or a cuisinart, mash the baked squash and mix in a bowl with the ricotta, cottage cheese, eggs, and herb paste. Set aside.
Meanwhile. Thinly slice two small onions and saute in a skillet with a little olive oil over medium heat until soft and slightly browned. Remove and set aside. Using that same pan, saute the mushrooms until soft- about 10 minutes.
Thinly slice the zucchini, summer squash, and fennel bulb (top trimmed off and root core removed. Saute over medium heat until slightly soft- set aside.
Time-out, this may seem like a lot of steps, but if you are able to multitask and have a few things going at one time, it's really not that bad. Also, if you have a great boyfriend who wants to hang out with you in the kitchen on a Friday night, hand him the the wooden spoon and have him take care of the saute station.
Ok, let's keep going. In a small pot, combine the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, chopped herbs, salt, and pepper. Keep over low heat.
Wow, that seemed like a lot, but only because there are so many vegetables that are stuffed inside this wonderful dish. Let's finally assemble the lasagna and get it in the oven.
Find yourself a 9x13 inch cake pan. Start with a layer of sauce, then a layer of the noodles (about four noodles per layer), then spread 1/4 of the butternut squash/cheese mixture over the noodles. Next, sprinkle a layer of the mixed vegetables-about a 1/3 of each- the roasted red bell peppers, garlic, eggplant, zucchini, squash, fennel, onions, and mushrooms.
Continue layering- sauce, noodles, cheese mixture, and vegetables until you end with a layer of noodles and top it with the cheese mixture. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 1 hour. Let it rest for about 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Enjoy!
Herb Paste:
I prepare lot of this herb paste during the summer when my herb garden is in full bloom and super abundant.
I use my Cuisinart, but you can easily just chop everything very finely and mix it together by hand.
1 cup of chopped fresh basil leaves
1 cup of chopped fresh chives
1/3 cup chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/3 cup chopped fresh oregano
1/3 cup chopped fresh savory
1/3 cup chopped fresh majoram
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage
I blend all of these herbs with enough olive oil to make a thick paste. Put the herb paste in a freezer bag, remove air, and lay flat in freezer. I use this stuff all year long in soups, on bread, mashed potatoes, vegetables, pizza, and lasagna! It's so versatile and you can easily break off any size amount you need.
