Anne's Lasagna

This recipe is great with lots of different veggies, so use what is seasonally and locally available. Use the vegetables that are available during the season when you are making this. For example when it is spring or summer you should make this with zucchini, yellow summer squash, green beans and asparagus. Similarly during the winter you could make it with broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and Brussels sprouts.

This makes a great vegetarian lasagna provided you use a good variety of vegetables and leave out the lamb. As always, make sure to buy rennet-free cheeses if you want it to be truly vegetarian.

If you are making this recipe gluten-free, make sure you get gluten-free lasagna noodles as well as pasta sauce and spices. Some sauces and spices use wheat as a filler so make sure to read those labels.

I suggest finding lasagna noodles labelled "no boil". This will make it much easier to make. If you can't find "no boil" noodles then you will have to spend some extra time pre-boiling the noodles.

Makes: 6 servings

Preparation time: 20m
Cooking time: 20m
Total time: 1h40m

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound ground lamb (vegetarian: leave this out)
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt (e.g. maldon sea salt)
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 24 oz jar pureed tomatoes
  • 4 cups diced mixed vegetables (use what is in season: asparagus/broccoli/carrots/cauliflower/Brussels sprouts/summer squash/zucchini)
  • 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cups grated ricotta salata.
  • 1/4 cup grated Pecorino cheese
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella (about 8 oz)
  • lasagna noodles (gluten-free: use gluten-free lasagna noodles and follow box instructions for pre-cooking)

Equipment: Large baking dish, saucepan, baking sheet

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 425ºF.
  2. Heat the saucepan over medium high. Add a few drops of water and when the water sizzles away it's ready. Add the ground lamb, salt and Italian seasoning. Cook until the lamb is browned. Add the pureed tomatoes to the saucepan. Turn down to simmer and partially cover until you are ready to use the sauce.
  3. Meanwhile wash and chop the vegetables into bite-sized pieces. Toss them in a bowl with 1-2 Tbsp olive oil. Then pour them onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and roast for 20-30 minutes. Dense things like carrots need more time and less dense things like broccoli need less time. They are ready when they start to brown on the edges.
  4. Assemble the layers of the lasagna. Spread the ingredients of each layer out evenly. Starting from the bottom up the layers are:
  • a thin layer meat sauce
    • single layer of lasagna noodles
    • most of the meat sauce (save enough for a thin later on the top
    • single layer of lasagna noodles 
    • all of the roasted vegetables
    • all of the ricotta salata and Pecorino
    • single layer of lasagna noodles
    • the rest of the meat sauce
    • all of the mozzarella
  1. Check the your lasagna noodle box for baking times as this will vary, but for the most part I always bake the lasagna covered for 30 minutes, then remove from the cover and put back into the oven for 10 minutes until the cheese on top starts to brown. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
  2. Serve hot with a glass of your favorite wine. You’ve earned it.