Vegetarian Lasagna

Ingredients

·         A tin or jar of good quality tomato sauce

·         1 – 2 packages of lasagna noodles, carefully cooked and drained, then lightly oiled and set aside in a bowl or on a cutting board

·         2 large carrots, cut in chunks and blanched, then drained and diced

·         1 onion, diced and slowly fried in butter until they are caramelized

·         1 package of mushrooms, diced and fried in garlic butter and pepper

·         1 cup of wilted spinach (start with roughly 10 cups of fresh spinach). 1 large package of frozen, chopped spinach, defrosted and drained very well will also work.

·         1 large container of cottage cheese, drained

·         1 cup of shredded or grated parmesan cheese

·         5 cups of mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:

1.      Carefully cook and drain 1 – 2 packages of lasagna noodles, then lightly oiled them and set aside in a bowl or on a cutting board (they will stick to each other and rip if they’re not oiled)

2.      Cut the 2 large carrots in chunks and blanch them in boiling water, then drain and dice them finely.

3.      Dice the onion, and slowly fry it in butter until it’s caramelized

4.      Dice and fry the mushrooms in garlic butter and pepper

5.      Either wilt the fresh spinach in a very large pot over medium heat, stirring frequently, or defrost a large package of frozen, chopped spinach, and drain it very well.

6.      In one bowl, mix the finely-diced lightly-blanched carrots, caramelized onions, garlic fried mushrooms, and steamed spinach together.

7.      Mix ¼ cup of shredded parmesan and 1 cup of mozzarella together in a small bowl and set aside.

8.      In another bowl, mix the cottage cheese with the remaining ¾ cup shredded parmesan and mozzarella cheeses.

9.      Once all preparation is done, pre-heat the oven to 375 degree.

10.  Coat the bottom and sides of a large lasagna pan with oil, and then spoon in enough tomato sauce to cover the bottom of the pan in a thin layer.

11.  Layer cooked lasagna noodles over the sauce in the bottom of the pan

12.  Cover the noodles with roughly 1/3 of the cheese mixture

13.  Spread a layer of roughly 1/3 of the veggie mix over the cheese

14.  Add a layer of tomato sauce on the vegetable mix, followed by a second layer of noodles.

15.  Repeat this process 2 more times, finishing with a layer of noodles covered with a fine layer of tomato sauce.

16.  Top with the grated parmesan and mozzarella cheeses set aside at the start of the cooking process

17.  Using tinfoil, create a “tent” to cover the lasagna that isn’t resting on the top layer of cheese, and bake for 45-50 minutes

18.  Remove the tinfoil, and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until the cheese on top starts to bubble and brown.