#vegetariancooking

Ingredients:

• 1 whole onion
• ½ carton of whole white mushrooms
• 2 whole carrots (small to medium or 1 whole large)
• 2 packed cups chopped spinach (divided)
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1 cup freshly grated pecorino romano
• ¾ cup freshly grated parmesan (divided in half)
• 1 15 oz container of whole milk ricotta
• ¼ cup half and half, milk, or cream
• 1 egg
• 1 Tpsb black pepper
• 1 Tbsp garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp parsley flakes (or 2 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley)
• 8-10 fresh basil leaves
• 2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 tsp salt (divided)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 jars alfredo sauce (any brand/flavors you like, I usually use either Newman’s Own or Rao’s garlic alfredo)
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 10-12 lasagna noodles
• 2 cups breadcrumbs
• 4 Tbsp butter

First thing I do is prep all of the cheese and veggies so that all I have to do is cook and assemble.

1. Finely chop/dice the onions and mushrooms.
2. Peel the carrots and then use the peeler to make fine carrot shreds. Finely chop the shreds to about the same size as the onions and the mushrooms.
3. Mince the garlic as finely as possible (protip - after slicing the garlic, sprinkle it with salt to help absorb the juice and keep the garlic sticking together so that it is easier to chop)
4. Destem and chop the fresh spinach.
5. Chop the basil (protip - take the basil leaves, stack 3-4 of the same size leaves on top of each other and roll them up along the long side like a little tiny cylinder. Chop the stemmy bit off of the end and then finely chop the cylinder into tiny slices and you’ll have very thin slices of basil that is much easier to manage than the flat leaves by themselves.)
6. Grate the romano and the parmesan

Next, I prep the ricotta cheese mixture:

1. Combine the ricotta, half of the parmesan, egg, half of the chopped spinach, basil, black pepper, 1 tsp of salt, parsley, garlic powder, basil, and the nutmeg together in a medium mixing bowl. You want to fully incorporate everything together fully and then let it sit in the fridge while you’re putting the sauce together and cooking the pasta. You can even make this a day ahead. YOU MUST ADD THE NUTMEG. It’s the secret ingredient that makes this work.

Now, for the sauce:

1. In a pretty large sautee pan (large enough to hold all of the veggies and both jars of sauce) heat the olive oil up over medium heat.
2. Add the chopped onions, carrots, and mushrooms to the pan and brown for a few minutes until the onions start to turn clear (you don’t want too much colors on this so that the sauce stays white, but you do want to work it all together so that the flavors meld).
3. Add the garlic and continue cooking and stirring in the pan for another 3-4 minutes over medium heat until the onions and garlic are almost done. Add the lemon juice and the rest of the black pepper to the mixture and keep stirring until the lemon juice has almost cooked off.
4. Add the 2 jars of sauce (protip- add the half a cup of wine to the jars and shake them to get as much of the saucy goodness as possible out of the jars.) and bring to a good simmer. Taste as you stir and adjust spices to your liking. Once it comes to simmer, turn off the heat and let the sauce sit while you cook the pasta.

Cook the pasta:

1. Use the biggest pot you have. The more room for the pasta to move around, the more evenly it will cook.
2. Salt the water. I use about a Tablespoon.
3. Most lasagna noodles need about 10 minutes to reach al dente.
4. Drain the pasta and run them under cold water to keep then al dente (remember, they’ve gotta go in the oven)

Lasagna lovers, assemble!

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Take a 9x11 casserole pan and spray it with a bit of Pam or olive oil (I swear by my Misto)
3. Put a fourth of your veggie sauce in the bottom of the pan and spread it into an even layer.
4. Add a layer of lasagna noodles. I don’t overlap them. Give them some room to absorb the saucy goodness around them.
5. Add a third of the ricotta mixture, spreading it evenly across the noodles (don’t miss the corners and sides)
6. Sprinkle with a third of the romano.
7. Sprinkle with a third of the remaining chopped spinach.
8. Sprinkle with a third of the mozzarella. (This is important, you want the romano and the mozzarella to blend with the spinach.
9. Add a layer of noodles, another layer of ricotta, a layer of veggie sauce, a layer of Romano, a layer of spinach, a layer of mozzarella. (Repeat this again.)
10. To top off the lasagna, you want to pour the rest of your sauce on top (make sure all of the lasagna noodles are fully covered to prevent them from getting overcooked in the oven), another thin layer of the cheeses (no spinach on the top) and your top layer of breadcrumbs mixed with the butter, spreading them evenly on top.
11. Pop it into the preheated oven and bake for 30-45 minutes (check at 30 minutes to make sure the breadcrumbs aren’t browning too fast, you can always cut the oven down to 375 for the last 15-20 minutes or tent with foil, if needed)
12. Once it’s done, take it out of the oven and let it sit for at least 15 minutes. The cheeses and sauce have to come back together and it’ll also be molten lave if you try to slice it right out of the oven.

Slice it up and enjoy. I live to garnish mine with a bit of grated romano and some fresh basil, but you can also add sliced tomato or whatever you want.