Baked Vegetable Lasagna Recipe

Baked Vegetable Lasagna (based on recipe found in Cooking Light Vegetarian)

To help ensure that the cheesy layer remains moist and creamy, don’t press out the extra water from the tofu.  Serve the lasagna with breadsticks and a green salad.

    3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

Sauce/Tomato Mixture [or use your favorite commercial pasta sauce]:                                          ½ cup chopped white onion                                                                                                                 2 garlic cloves, minced                                                                                                                         1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided                                                                                                           1 teaspoon sugar                                                                                                                                   ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided                                                                          ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper [Dona used more than this amount]                                         1 (28-ouce) can crushed tomatoes                                                                                                 ½ cup chopped fresh basil                                                                                                                      1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

Cheese Mixture:                                                                                                                                             1 cup ricotta cheese                                                                                                                             ½ cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmigiano Reggiano cheese                                                         1 (14-ounce) package water-packed firm tofu, drained                                                                   1 large egg, lightly beaten                                                                                                                 ½ cup thinly sliced green onions

Vegetables:                                                                                                                                                    3 cups finely chopped red bell pepper (about 2 medium)                                                            2 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced (about 3 cups)                              1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

Cooking spray

12 cooked lasagna noodles [Phyllis uses lentil lasagna noodles and DOES NOT pre-cook them]

¾ cup (3 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. SKIP IF YOU ARE USING STORE BOUGHT PASTA SAUCE.  Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add white onion; saute 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; saute 1 minute or until golden. Add ½ teaspoon salt, sugar, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, crushed red pepper, and tomatoes. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat; stir in basil and oregano. Cool.
3. Combine ricotta, Parmigiano-Reggiano, tofu, egg, and ¼ teaspoon salt in a food processor; process 10 seconds or until blended. Stir in green onions. Set aside.
4. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper, zucchini, and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt to pan; saute 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender and liquid evaporates. Remove from heat; stir in parsley and remaining 1/8 teaspoon black pepper.
5. Spread ½ cup tomato mixture in bottom of a 13 x 9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray; top with 3 noodles.  Spread ¾ cup tomato mixture over noodles; top with 1 cup tofu mixture and 1 cup zucchini mixture. Repeat layers twice, ending with noodles. Spread remaining ¾ cup tomato mixture over top. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes or until bubbly; top with mozzarella cheese. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Let stand 10 minutes. Yield: 8 serving (serving size: 1 piece).

Kitchen How-to:

Assemble Baked Lasagna

Lasagna is comforting, rich, and easy to assemble.  You can sandwich virtually any kind of filling between those sheets of pasta: beans, eggplant, artichoke hearts, a mixture of vegetables, cheese – you name it. And lasagna is an ideal make-ahead entrée.

1. Spread ½ cup of the tomato mixture across the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. This should be a thin layer.
2. Top the tomato mixture with 3 noodles.
3. Spread ¾ cup of the tomato mixture over the noodles.
4. Top the noodles and sauce with 1 cup of the tofu mixture and 1 cup of the zucchini mixture.
5. Repeat the layers twice, ending with noodles. Spread the remaining ¾ cup of the tomato mixture over top. Bake the lasagna according to the recipe directions.