best vegetarian lasagna

 

This lasagna used so many pans and bowls and I was crossing my fingers that the effort would be worth it.  You see, we had dinner company coming from out out-of-state and one of our guests was a vegetarian so I wanted to find the very best vegetarian lasagna.  Well, despite a kitchen full of dirty dishes to be done, I managed to get them all clean and put away before our guests arrived AND the lasagna was SO GOOD!

Next time I will read the recipe through before I decide on one. :)  Three parts of this recipe had to be blended.  It was some work but worth it.

best vegetarian lasagna (cookie+kate)

veggies and spinach

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 large carrots,, chopped (about 1 cup)

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 medium zucchini, chopped

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1/4 teaspoon salt

5-6 ounces baby spinach

tomato sauce (or substitute 2 cups prepared marinara sauce- don't do it!)

1 large can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes

1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh basil

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (I omitted)

2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

remaining ingredients

2 cups (16 ounces) low-fat cottage cheese, divided

1/4 teaspoon salt, to taste

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

9 no-boil lasagna noodles

8 ounces (2 cups) freshly grated low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

To prepare the veggies:  In a large skillet over medium heat, warm the oil.  Add the carrots, bell pepper, zucchini, yellow onion, and salt.  Cook, stirring every couple of minutes, until the veggies are golden on the edges, about 8-12 minutes.

Add a few large handfuls of spinach.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the spinach has wilted.  Repeat with remaining spinach and cook until all of the spinach has wilted, about 3 minutes.  Remove the skillet from the heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, to prepare the tomato sauce:

Pour the tomatoes into a colander and drain off the excess juice for a minute.  Then transfer the drained tomatoes into the bowl of a food processor.  Add the basil, oil, garlic, salt and red pepper flakes.

Pulse the mixture about 10 times until the tomatoes have broken down to an easily spreadable consistency.  Pour the mixture into a bowl for later.  Rinse out he food processor and return it to the machine.

Pour half of the cottage cheese (1 cup) into the processor and blend it until smooth, about 1 minute.  Transfer the mixture to large mixing bowl.  No need to rinse out the bowl of the food processor this time; just put it back onto the machine because you'll need it later.

Transfer the cooked veggies and spinach mixture to the bowl of the food processor.  Pulse until they are more finely chopped but not pureed, about 5 to 7 times, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary.  Transfer the mixture to the bowl of whipped cottage cheese.  Top with the remaining cottage cheese, then add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt to taste and lots of freshly ground black pepper.  Stir to combine.

Time to assemble:

Spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce evenly over the bottom of a 9x9" baking dish.  Layer 3 lasagna noodles on top.  Spread half of the cottage cheese mixture evenly over the noodles.  Top with 3/4 cup tomato sauce, then sprinkle 1/2 cup shredded cheese on top.

Top with 3 more noodles, followed by the remaining cottage cheese mixture (we're skipping the tomato sauce in this layer).  Sprinkle 1/2 cup shredded cheese on top.

Top with 3 more noodles, then spread 3/4 cup tomato sauce over the top to evenly cover the noodles.  Sprinkle evenly with 1 cup shredded cheese.

Wrap a sheet of parchment paper or foil around the top of the lasagna (don't let it touch the cheese).  Bake, covered, for 18 minutes, then remove the cover, rotate the pan by 180 degrees and continue cooking for about 10 to 12 more minutes, until the top is turning spotty brown.

Remove from oven and let the lasagna cool for 15 to 20 minutes, so it has time to set and cool down to a reasonable temperature.  Sprinkle additional basil over the top then slice and serve.