Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

Ingredients

• 1 28 oz can whole tomatoes (don’t drain, use the juice)
• 1 6 oz can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 cup fresh chopped basil

• 3 zucchini, cut into small chunks
• 2 eggplants, sliced, then chopped
• 2 red bell peppers, chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper

• 3 cups marinara sauce (store bought or homemade)
• 3 cups ricotta (store bought or homemade)
• 1 egg
• 2 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb lasagna noodles (whatever kind you like)
• 10 oz bag frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of all moisture

Instructions

For Marinara Sauce:

In a large sauce pan, heat olive oil over medium heat and add chopped onion. Saute for a few minutes until onion starts to become translucent. Add the garlic and sautee for another 30 seconds.

Add the red wine, then the canned tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Stir, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to low and let simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes.

Add sauce to a blender and blend for about 1 minute.

Pour sauce back into the saucepan and add the dried oregano and fresh basil.

Sauce is ready to serve or save for later.

*Store in the fridge up to 1 week or freeze for a few months.

For Roasted Vegetables:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Toss the vegetables with oil, salt and pepper.

Arrange the vegetables in a single layer on 2 lightly greased baking sheets. Turn the vegetables once about half way through. Bake until they’re tender, lightly browned about 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and set aside.

*Roasted veggies can be stored in the fridge for a few days prior to using them for the lasagna.

For Roasted Vegetable Lasagna:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta, egg, 1/2 cup mozzarella, 1/4 cup parmesan, minced garlic, salt and pepper.

Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with non stick spray.

Pour 1/2 cup of marinara sauce onto the bottom of the dish (just a thin layer).

Cover the marinara with a layer of lasagna noodles (I used no boil noodles, but you can use noodles that require you to pre-boil, just boil them according to the package instructions).

Top the noodles with 1/2 of the thawed spinach, 1/2 of the roasted vegetables, 1/2 of the ricotta, 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, and 3/4 cup marinara sauce.

Repeat layering: noodles, remaining spinach, remaining roasted vegetables, remaining ricotta, 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, 3/4 cup marinara sauce.

Final layer: noodles, 1 cup marinara, remaining mozzarella, 1/2 cup grated parmesan

Bake until the lasagna for about 1 hour, until it’s bubbling along the edges and golden brown.

Let to rest for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Cut into 12 large pieces.