Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Lasagna with Zucchini, Mushrooms, and Spinach


Note: I took this picture really fast because I was starving.  The layers actually came out much better and put together than it looks; I am terrible with serving utensils.  

This was my first lasagna... I wasn't sure exactly how I was going to do it, but I had very specific ingredients in mind before making it.  Namely, spinach, mushrooms, and zucchini. And lots of cheese.  I got a few good tips from my mom about sauteing the spinach before hand, squeezing the moisture out of it, and mixing it in with the ricotta.  Otherwise, I kept track of what I put in it because I started throwing some random stuff in.  I liked how the red pepper flakes added a little kick to it.


Ingredients

9-12 lasagna noodles (depending on how many you can get in each layer)
15oz ricotta cheese
2 15oz jars tomato sauce or equivalent homemade sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 6oz packages of fresh spinach
3 zucchinis, sliced
3 cups sliced mushrooms
3-4 cloves garlic, mashed or minced
1/4 cup basil, chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste
Olive oil


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook lasagna noodles according to instructions.  Remove from water and set aside.

2. Saute spinach in olive oil until wilted and squeeze dry until as much moisture as possible is gone.  Saute zucchini and mushrooms in olive oil until cooked through but not mushy.  Pat dry with paper towels and mix with some salt.

3. In a medium sized bowl, mix together: ricotta cheese, garlic, spinach, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, Italian seasonings, egg, basil, and one cup of shredded mozzarella cheese.

4. In a 9x13 rimmed baking dish: spread one jar of sauce as the first layer, lay the lasagna noodles on top of the sauce, spread half of the ricotta mixture over the noodles, spread half of the zucchini and mushrooms over the ricotta, and repeat (except for the sauce, which goes on top of the last noodle layer). On top of the 3rd layer of noodles, add the next jar of sauce, sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese on top.  Bake for 30 minutes.

2 comments:

  1. I love mushroom and spinach in lasagna, I haven't tried zucchini yet with it but I would love to try it. We're all lasagna eaters in the family, even my youngest who's only 5 already have his own lasagna recipe favorite, lol! Anyway, I'll be trying this for sure real soon. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for checking it out! Lasagna seems like a good way to get kids to eat their veggies. Now that the lasagna door is open, I'll definitely check out some recipes on your sight, they look great!

    ReplyDelete