Lasagna Primavera

Considering the fact that this was a meatless pasta, it was insanely dense. Probably the heaviest (in weight) pasta I have ever made. And I have made some heavy pastas! Anyway, this was very filling and I was really please with it! Makes a ton! So I should probably consider halving it next time, but it's been nice having lunch taken care of!

For the sauce you can use store bought. Or even mom's spaghetti sauce would work (then it wouldn't be meatless!) I used the sauce from the manicotti recipe (also on here) because I knew I liked it. But really any red sauce would work.

Also I did all the vegetable chopping in my food processor! It made things go much faster and it was less chunky.

It's also great that it sits for 15 minutes, perfect for cooking bread/ rolls!

Very yummy!

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2010/09/lasagna-primavera.html

• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 3 zucchini (about 2 ½ to 3 cups finely chopped – mine were in 1/4-inch or less pieces)
• 2 squash (about 2 cups finely chopped – 1/4-inch or less pieces)
• 2 cups chopped broccoli
• 20 ounces chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained well (or squeezed through a towel) I just used fresh spinach because I think frozen spinach is gross. And I put it in the food processor to shred it up. 
• 3 cups ricotta cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 16 ounces mozzarella, shredded (about 4 cups)
• 4-6 ounces Parmesan cheese, shredded (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 2 (24-ounce) jars pasta sauce or use 6 cups of homemade sauce
• 12 no-boil lasagna noodles (I love the Barilla brand), or 12 regular lasagna noodles, boiled and drained

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all the chopped vegetables (carrots, broccoli, zucchini, squash) with 1/2 teaspoon salt and steam briefly, for 2-3 minutes, to soften them just a bit (they’ll finish cooking in the oven after the lasagna is assembled).
3. In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, spinach and salt. Mix well.
4. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch pan. Spoon about 3/4 cup sauce onto the bottom of the pan and spread around. It will be a thin layer. Cover with four no-boil lasagna noodles, overlapping slightly. Spoon in 1/3 of the lightly steamed vegetables evenly. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the vegetables then sprinkle with 1/3 of the mozzarella and 1/4 of the Parmesan cheese. Pour 1/3 of the remaining sauce over the cheese, lightly spreading it to the edges. Repeat the layers (noodles, vegetables, ricotta, mozzarella/parm, sauce) two more times, ending with the last of the sauce. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese over the top. This lasagna will be piled high – above the rim of your 9X13-inch pan, but it will settle as it bakes.
5. Cover the lasagna with a sheet of lightly greased foil and place the 9X13-inch pan on a large baking sheet lined with foil (this is important since the lasagna will bubble and spit over the edge a bit as it bakes). Bake, covered, for 50 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes longer. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.