Vegetable Lasagna

I knew going into making this lasagna that I may have some haters from the get go.  First the mushrooms, I knew these wouldn’t go over well.  Preston doesn't hate very many things, but he hates mushrooms (he says they make him gag, so sad that he hates mushrooms, not gags).  Noah is pickier and I was pretty sure that when he looked at the lasagna that he wasn't going to like it (I was right).  Stella said she didn't want to eat, but she doesn't count because she's sick.  Todd was the big question mark.  He loves mushrooms, but doesn't love zucchini and squash.  His favorite lasagna of all time is full of meat and so I wasn't sure if this lasagna would win his heart or stomach.  He loved it!  In fact he said that he liked it as much as his favorite sausage lasagna (sweet!).  And for me...I wouldn't go to the effort of making something that I wasn't pretty sure I would like and this lasagna did not disappoint.  It was delicious and will make it again and again (even though I am pretty sure my kids will either fall over dead in their chairs or die of moaning if they see this lasagna sitting on our dinner table again).

Vegetable Lasagna

9-ounce package oven ready lasagna noodles (I used barilla and there will be leftovers)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 whole red bell pepper, seeded and diced
12-ounces mushrooms, chopped
1 yellow squash, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 (14-ounce) can petit diced tomatoes
1/4 cup white wine or vegetable broth
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
15 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and garlic and cook for a minutes.  Add diced red peppers and sauté for another minute.  Add mushrooms, yellow squash and zucchini and cook for a few minutes.  Pour in wine (or vegetable broth), 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.  Stir.  Pour in diced tomatoes and stir to combine.  Let simmer for 20-30 minutes.  Stir in chopped parsley.  

In a medium sized bowl combine ricotta cheese, egg, Parmesan cheese and 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt.

Butter an 8x8 baking dish.  To assemble, spread a little of the vegetable sauce in the bottom of the baking dish.  Lay 3 oven ready lasagna noodles, slightly overlapping, over the sauce.  Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture on the noodles.  Top with a 1/3 of the shredded mozzarella cheese.  Spoon a little less than 1/3 of the veggie sauce mixture over the mozzarella.

Repeat the layering two more times, ending with the vegetable sauce and a good sprinkling of Parmesan.

Cover baking dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes.  Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.  Garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.

*Because I was trying with all of my heart to get my kids to like this lasagna, I made my own ricotta.  I know they love it and I was hoping it would be a selling point for the lasagna.  Sadly, my ricotta plan didn't work.  But, I will say that even though it was an extra step, I would do it again.

This lasagna made great leftovers (dinner and a couple of lunches).

Recipe adapted from Pioneer Woman