Warm-your-bones lasagna
After my boyfriend’s Italian mother visited us over Christmas, I decided to make lasagna. Go figure. Hopefully, if she were here to taste it she wouldn’t accuse me of disgracing her culture. I, for one, am pretty damn happy with this recipe. Packed full of vegetables and creamy ricotta, this is winter food at its best.
Serves six generously. Prep time 40 minutes, cook time 45-55 minutes
Ingredients
1 medium sized eggplant, sliced into ½ inch rounds
1 large red pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme
¾ tsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 796ml can of crushed tomatoes
1 tbsp sugar (or more to taste)
9 lasagna noodles, cooked according to package directions
1 475g package ricotta cheese
2 cups spinach, roughly chopped
1 ½ cups grated mozzarella cheese
Pesto (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 375ˇ F. Place the eggplant and the bell pepper on an oiled baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil generously over the eggplant and rub some oil on the outside of the pepper. Sprinkle some salt, pepper, and dried thyme over the vegetables and roast in the oven for 30 minutes or until tender.
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute the onion until translucent, then add the garlic and saute for one minute. Add the herbs, salt, and pepper. After one minute, add the balsamic vinegar, tomatoes, and sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer at a low heat for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Once the roasted vegetables have cooled down somewhat, half the pepper and remove the seeds and stem. Slice the pepper and the eggplant rounds into ½ inch strips.
Turn the oven down to 350ˇ F. Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish and layer three noodles on top of the sauce. Spread a layer of sauce on top of the noodles, enough so that they are mostly covered. Crumble half of the ricotta cheese over top and spread out the chopped spinach over the ricotta. Lay three noodles on top of the spinach and cover with a layer of sauce. Crumble the remaining ricotta over top and spread out the roasted vegetables evenly. Cover with three more noodles and the remaining sauce. Sprinkle the mozzarella over the sauce and spoon a dollop of pesto on each soon-to-be piece of lasagna. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the cheese is lightly browned and the sauce is bubbling vigorously.