Feeling a bit in the mood for a “healthier” lasagna. By that I mean no meat. I find that I rarely eat meat these days. I am really into all of the amazing vegetables that I find at the farmers market – and needing to come up with new ways to use them. This morning I had a cooking show on in the background – and they were making lasagna. I was only listening and my mouth started watering. That brings us to here. Hope you like this one!
Lasagna With Grilled Vegetables
Serves 4-6
Tomato sauce (scroll down for recipe)
1 package of whole wheat (or gluten free) lasagna noodles
Lemon-ricotta (scroll down for recipe)
Grilled vegetables (scroll down for recipe)
1 package of mozzarella cheese (250 g)
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Start with a thin layer of tomato sauce, cover with a layer of lasagna noodles, a layer of lemon-ricotta, a layer of grilled vegetables, a layer of kale and a layer of tomato sauce. Repeat 2-3 times, top the last layer with the rest of the vegetables, the tomato sauce, the lemon-ricotta and the grated mozarella cheese. Bake it in the oven for 40-50 minutes.
Tomato sauce (arrabiata)
3 tbsp olive oil
1 medium size onion (finely chopped)
3 cloves garlic (minced)
1 fresh chili (medium strong, finely chopped)
25-30 kalamata olives (pitted)
2 tbsp capers (drained)
4 large tomatoes (cut in quarters)
2 cans plum tomatoes
half a pot fresh basil
salt & pepper
Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add onion, garlic, and chili and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add olives, capers and fresh tomatoes and cook it a couple of minutes more before adding the rest of the ingredients. Cook for 10 minutes, lower the heat and let it simmer for half an hour more under a lid.
Grilled Vegetables
2 tbsp olive oil
salt
2 zucchini (sliced)
1 eggplant (sliced)
300 g mushrooms,
300 g fresh kale or spinach
1 clove garlic
Dash the zucchini and eggplant with olive oil and salt and grill them in the oven at 400°F for about 10 minutes. Stir fry the mushrooms and the kale in a pan for 5 minutes with olive oil, salt and garlic. You could also grill the zucchini and eggplant in a broiler pan, the important thing is that the vegetables release some of their moist before putting them in the lasagna.
Lemon- ricotta
500 g ricotta cheese
1 organic medium size lemon (juice & zest)
1 small handful of fresh basil (chopped)
a pinch of sea salt
a pinch of lemon pepper
Place ricotta cheese in a bowl, grate the lemon zest and sqeeze the lemon, add zest and juice to the bowl. Add basil, salt and lemon pepper and mix it together.
See the instructions on how to put the lasagna together in the beginning of the recipe.
Directions
Prepare as you would regular lasagna – here is how it’s tweaked with the above ingredients. We added lemon to the ricotta, chili to the tomato sauce, used whole wheat lasagna noodles and changed bell peppers for mushrooms and kale.
Susy Sedano is a Content Producer at Digital Wellness, a fitness enthusiast and an avid cook of healthy meals. She prides herself on creating healthy dishes for family and friends, and is always on the hunt for new workouts and recipes! Despite her hectic non-stop work and fitness schedules, she is a “girl’s girl” and a student of life!
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