For
Good Health Recipes Sundays, I am going to alternate between healthy eating and healthy cleaning recipes. Two Sundays ago, I posted an after run protein shake. Last week, I posted a recipe for homemade laundry soap. This week: a very yummy roasted vegetable lasagna that I made often for dinner for my vegetarian friends when I lived in Vancouver, BC. All my meat eating friends and family in Ontario enjoy it, too! :)
"Less On Ya" Lasagna
1999 Granet Publishing Inc.
Page 91
Translation: You'll end up with less fat on ya since there's less fat in your lasagna. But you'll actually have more healthy stuff in ya, given the heaping layers of veggie hidden under the cheese and noodles. Just don't drop any on ya!
3 cups sliced portebello mushrooms
2 medium zucchini, unpeeled, sliced
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 large yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. balsamic or red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced (Note: I add more and I chop them rather than mince)
1 tsp. dried rosemary
1 tsp. dried oregano
+++
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese (Note: I double the ricotta and skip the cottage!)
1/3 cup chopped, fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg white
+++
12 lasagna noodles, uncooked (Note: I use 6 spinach + 6 whole wheat noodles)
3 cups of your favourite low-fat spaghetti sauce
1-1/2 cups shredded, part-skim mozzarella or Swiss cheese (6 oz.)
1. In a large roasting pan, add mushrooms, zucchini, bell peppers, onion, olive oil, vinegar, garlic, rosemary and oregano. Mix well until vegetables are coated with seasonings. Roast, uncovered, @400 degrees F for 25 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking time.
2.While vegetables are roasting, prepare cheese filling and cook pasta. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta and cottage cheeses, 1/4 cup parsley, Parmesan cheese, and egg white. Mix well. Refrigerate until ready to use. Prepare lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain well. Rinse with cold water and drain again.
3. To assemble lasagna, grease a 9X13" baking dish with a little bit of olive oil. Spread 1/4 spaghetti sauce over the bottom of pan. Arrange 4 lasagna noodles, 3 lengthwise and 1 crosswise, over sauce. Spread 1/2 cheese filling over noodles, followed by 1/3 roasted vegetables. Sprinkle vegetables with 1/3 mozzarella. Repeat layering: 4 noodles, 1/2 cheese filling, 1/3 roasted vegetables, and 1/3 mozzarella. Layer final 4 noodles over mozzarella, followed by remaining spaghetti sauce, Top sauce with remaining roasted vegetables.
4. Cover with foil and bake @375 degrees F for 35 minutes. Remove lasagna from oven, sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parsley, and return to oven, uncovered, for 5 more minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Makes 8 servings
(Note: I cut my lasagna into more than 8 serving sizes - I think this is too generous a serving size)
