Italian-style Vegetarian Lasagna
Difficulty: Easy
Portions: 4-6
Preparation: 50 min
Baking time: 35 minutes
Fancy a little bit of lasagna tonight, but what you want is a vegetarian recipe? An unusual dish, I can suggest a delicious Italian style vegetarian lasagna. Two layers are made of vegetables: eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, onion, carrot, flavored with basil, oregano and thyme, and alternating with two other layers of spinach mixed with ricotta associated with parmesan and sour cream. Even the most recalcitrant spinach non-believers are instantly converted...
Ingredients:
* 1 lb. fresh spinach
* 1 eggplant
* 1 large zucchini
* 1 carrot
* 2 large tomatoes
* 1 onion
* 1 shallot
* parsley
* 2 sprigs fresh thyme
* 3 pinches of oregano
* 6 fresh basil leaves
* 300 grams of ricotta
* 3/4 cup sour cream
* 2 eggs
* 15 no-boil lasagna noodles
* 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
* olive oil
* Salt and pepper
Instructions
1) Cut the stems from the spinach, wash twice in cold water. Blanch in a pan with some boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Finish by plunging immediately into a large container filled with ice water to preserve their color. Drain well and remove all the water by putting spinach on thick paper. Coarsely chop the spinach, reserve.
2) Mince the shallots and fry them in a pan with a little olive oil for 3 minutes until tender. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and stir in 3/4 of the ricotta and 3/4 of sour cream. Add shallots and spinach. Grate the parmesan and mix this preparation. Season with salt and pepper. Reserve. Cut eggplant lengthwise and fry in olive oil. Transfer to a plate with paper towels to take out the excess fat.
3) Cut the zucchini lengthwise, dice the carrot, chop the onion and slice coarsely the tomatoes. Place the vegetables in an oiled pan. Stir in 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper. Add the eggplant. Cook, covered, over very low heat for 15 minutes. Finish by incorporating the chopped basil 5 minutes before the end of this cooking time.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
4) Grease a rectangular baking dish (26x20cm). Ask three sheets of lasagne in the dish (depending on the size of the dish - cut the third plate if necessary) and remove a layer of vegetables on them (taking care to remove the thyme sprigs 2).
Add 3 plates of vegetables and spread a layer of spinach. 3 plates back again, then another layer of vegetables, and even three plates with a final layer of spinach.
5) Cover the spinach with the last 3 noodles.
Mix 1/4, or the remaining ricotta with sour cream with remaining grated parmesan. Spread this mixture over the lasagna noodles.
Place in oven and bake about for 35 to 40 minutes until the top is nice and golden.
Serve immediately your italian vetarian lasagna with a homemade tomato sauce and freshly grated Parmesan.