Vegetable Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 ½ cups chopped yellow onion
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, chopped
• 2 medium zucchini, chopped into ½-inch pieces
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 48 ounces marinara sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 pinches crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• 5 ounces baby spinach, coarsely chopped
• 1 egg
• 1 cup ricotta cheese, 8 ounces
• 9 oven ready (no boil) lasagna noodles
• 16 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese, about 4 cups
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Chopped fresh basil or parsley, optional, for serving

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, mushrooms and zucchini and cook until softened, 7 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
3. Add the marinara sauce, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and parsley to the skillet and stir. Bring to a simmer and then reduce the temperature to low. Cook at a low simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then stir in the chopped fresh spinach.
4. While the sauce simmers, crack the egg into a medium bowl and beat lightly with a fork. Add the ricotta cheese and stir to combine. This is also a good time to shred the mozzarella cheese.
5. To assemble the lasagna, put about 1 cup of the sauce into a 9×13-inch baking dish. Lay 3 noodles in an even layer over the sauce. Spread ⅓ of the remaining sauce over the noodles. Place small spoonfuls of the ricotta and egg mixture on top of the sauce, using ½ of the ricotta. Sprinkle ⅓ of the mozzarella and ⅓ of the Parmesan over the top.
6. Repeat the same layer one more time: 3 noodles, ½ of the remaining sauce, the rest of the ricotta, ½ of the remaining mozzarella and ½ of the remaining Parmesan. For the top layer of the lasagna, use the remaining 3 noodles, the rest of the sauce, and finally the rest of the mozzarella and Parmesan.
7. Cover the lasagna with a piece of foil that has been sprayed with cooking spray on the underside (to prevent the cheese from sticking to the foil).
8. Bake the lasagna in the center of the oven, covered with foil, for 35 minutes. (Put a rimmed baking sheet on the rack below the lasagna to catch any drips of sauce.) Then uncover and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes more, or until the lasagna is hot and bubbling on the sides and the cheese is lightly browned on top. Let the lasagna rest for 15 minutes before serving. Do not skip the rest time, or the lasagna will be too soupy when serving.

Yield: 

12 servings

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