How to Make Vegetable Lasagne

The amazing thing about lasagne, aside from its irresistible taste, is its flexibility; it truly is the food for all seasons. Whether you stick to the classic recipes we have all tried and loved or adapt a recipe to whatever ingredients you have on hand, which can include leftovers from days before. You can bake it and serve it immediately, assemble it in one day and bake it the next, or warm and serve it the day after its baked. The perfect pot luck dish since it can travel with you in a pan. In the lighter lasagne of today, vegetables, turkey, or chicken replace ground beef and are every bit as flavourful.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• 2 cans (28 ounces each) Italian plum tomatoes
• 1 medium size yellow onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons flour mixed with 1/4 cup cold water
• 1 medium size eggplant, peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch slices
• 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 small zucchini, peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch slices
• 2 small sweet green peppers, cored, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch strips
• 2 small sweet red peppers, cored, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch strips
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 pound lasagne noodles, cooked until almost tender and drained
• 3 cups low fat ricotta cheese
• 5 quart Dutch oven
• Wire whisk
• A 15 1/2 inch x 10 inch x 1 inch pan
• Measuring spoons
• Measuring cups
• A 13 inch x 9 inch x 2 inch baking dish
• Aluminum foil

1. The Sauce: In a 5 quart Dutch oven over moderately high heat, bring tomatoes and their juice, onion, garlic, thyme, basil, salt and black pepper to a boil. Reduce the heat to a moderately low temperature and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally to break up tomatoes, for about 15 minutes. Slowly whisk in flour and water paste and then simmer, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens, should be about 2 minutes. Meanwhile, make sure to preheat the broiler.
2. The Filling: Brush both sides of eggplant slices using 1 tablespoon oil, place in a single layer in a 15 ½ inch x 10 inch x 1 inch pan, set in the broiler 5 to 6 inches from the heat, and broil 5 minutes on each side. Oil zucchini slices using another 1 tablespoon oil and broil for 3 minutes on each side. Toss peppers with the remaining ½ tablespoon oil and broil 7 minutes; toss well and broil 7 minutes more.
3. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Blend the Parmesan and mozzarella and reserve.
4. Cover the bottom of an ungreased 13 inch x 9 inch x 2 inch baking dish with ½ cup tomato sauce. Lay 4 lasagne noodles over sauce with edges overlapping. Now layer the lasagne, distributing each ingredient evenly: ¾ cup tomato sauce, ½ cup Parmesan mixture, 1 cup ricotta, all eggplant slices, ¾ cup tomato sauce, and 4 lasagne noodles. Repeat this layering twice, using zucchini in place of eggplant in the second layer and the pepper mixture in the third layer. Top with a layer of noodles, then the remaining sauce and Parmesan mixture.
5. Cover with foil, shiny side down please, set on a baking sheet and bake until bubbly, should be about 45 to 55 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving to your hungry group of about 6 guests or family.

Tips & Warnings

• 1 Serving: Calories 750; Total Fat 27 grams; Saturated Fat 12 grams; Protein 40 grams; Carbohydrates 91 grams; Fiber 10 grams; Sodium 1703 milligrams; Cholesterol 62 milligrams
• Preparation time about 1 hour
• Cooking time about 1 hour 27 minutes to 1 hour 37 minutes
• You can use almost any cooked vegetable or vegetable mixture will work. The vegetables should be slightly underdone though, because they will of course cook a second time when the lasagne bakes.
• Traditionally mozzarella, ricotta, and Parmesan cheeses have been used in lasagne, but you can also use low fat cheese or change the flavor of a lasagne by trying some new varieties. Use Monterey jack or smoked mozzarella instead of regular. Substitute aged provolone or Asiago for the grated Parmesan for a different experience. You can spice up mild ricotta by crumbling in a little tangy white goat cheese or even goat cheese with different herbs.
• Want a meaty lasagne for the men of the family, use lean ground beef, lamb, or pork, sliced chicken, ground or sliced turkey, loose sausage, pork or turkey sausage, or combine two or three into a dish.
• If your a pasta lover you may want to make your own fresh noodles for your lasagne. For the rest of us, packaged varieties come flat, ridged, and with or without ruffled edges. This and most recipes don't specify a specific kind, but choose the thinnest noodles you can find, thick noodles become wet and doughy as they cook.
• If you don't want to cook noodles, there are the no cook noodles available on the market today, and many lasagne and pasta lovers swear by them. They do cost a little more, convenience is expensive, but they are good and thin, and they do eliminate the possibility of over cooked pasta in a lasagne.
• To make a lasagne as light as it should be, all vegetables should be well drained of water before they are layered into the dish because too much liquid in lasagne guarantees sloggy lasagne. Be sure that excess water has been pressed out of steamed or boiled leafy greens. Mushrooms should be cooked until they have exuded all of their liquid and it has evaporated; yellow squash and zucchini should be grilled or sauteed until crisp. Pureed winter squash should be set aside to drain in a fine sieve.
• Soggy noodles are a possibility, because lasagne noodles are cooked twice they can easily become too soft. Stay near the stove and watch them closely, don't walk away to see what's happening on your day time drama show. Noodles should be removed from the heat, and drained just before they reach the firm tender stage.