JUL
21

Veggie Lasagna

I’m horrible. I teased you with pictures of this dish week’s ago. Finally – following up, slowing down and taking a little time to share a few of the dishes I created for loved ones while I was out on the road (see my day in Memphis here!). As part of my 11×30 challenge, I’m going meat-free in different variations for the next 3 months. I cannot tell you how badly I want a salmon or shrimp-filled dinner, people. REALLY… 2 more months of no fish? I miss my sushi…

There’s growth in challenging yourself, this much I know. The month hasn’t been that bad, despite the attempt to whine. Eating fresh veggies at their peak in the summer months is one of my favorite things in life. Jenna’s Vegetarian Lasagna (via PBS) was the foundation recipe to inspire a my version. It packs in more veggies and omits the cow dairy (this girl = highly intolerant to dairy), swapping it for goat cheese. Recipe + a few pics from the farmers market in Arkansas where I nabbed most of the ingredients to make this little number, including a ghost zucchini (see the pale green, spaceship-shaped looking veggie below).

P.S. – This dish is even better the second day re-warmed and served. Aren’t most things pasta & pizza amazing for that reason alone?

INGREDIENTS

• 1 box lasagna noodles (you can use “no bake” but the regular work just fine in this recipe because of the veggie water content)
• 1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce
• 1 14.5 oz canned, diced tomatoes OR 1 pine of fresh cherry tomatoes
• 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 2 10-oz bags baby spinach
• 1 large eggplant, sliced and “sweated“
• 1 pint of baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
• 2 zucchinis, sliced
• 1 bunch of basil
• 20 oz of goat cheese (I used 1/2 plain and 1/2 tomato basil herb)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4th tsp pepper
• 1.5 tablespoon olive oil

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat the olive oil over medium low heat in a large skillet. Add one bag spinach and cook until wilted.
3. Remove and place spinach in a bowl and then cook remaining bag. Set cooked spinach aside.
4. Add remaining .5 tbsp olive oil to the skillet and saute mushrooms until tender. Set aside in a separate bowl.
5. Combine the store-bought marinara sauce with the canned or fresh tomatoes; add 1 bulb of the miced garlic (about 1 tsp) and the mushrooms to the sauce. Warm & simmer until some of the water content subsides. Remove and set aside.
6. In a third bowl, mix together the goat cheese, eggs, basil, 2 bulbs of minced garlic, salt and pepper.
7. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with cooking spray and pour in about a fourth cup of pasta sauce to cover bottom. Lay three uncooked lasagna noodles over top. Add a layer of the goat cheese mixture, then a layer of spinach, followed by a layer of eggplant, a layer of zucchini and a dollops of the goat cheese mixture. Finish each layer with a fourth cup of pasta sauce then repeat.
8. Make two more additional layers of noodles, cheese, spinach, eggplant, zucchini, cheese and sauce then finish with a final layer of noodles, the rest of the sauce and more of the goat cheese mixture.
9. Cover very loosely with tin foil and bake for 50 minutes; uncover and bake for an additional 10-15
10. After baking, let lasagna cool for 15 minutes before digging in!