Old World Lasagna Primavera
Ingredients
For the Vegetables:
- 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup carrots, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 medium zucchini, chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- ¼ tsp. salt or to taste
- 5 to 6 ounces baby spinach
- 2 cups marinara sauce
- 16 ounces low-fat cottage cheese, divided
- ¼ tsp. salt or to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 9 no-boil lasagna noodles
- 8 ounces grated low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella cheese
- Basil, optional
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 425°F.
To prepare the vegetables:
- In a large skillet, over medium heat, warm the olive oil.
- Once shimmering, add the carrots, bell pepper, zucchini, yellow onion and salt.
- Cook, stirring every couple of minutes, until the vegetables are golden on the edges; about 8 to 12 minutes.
- Add a few large handfuls of spinach.
- Cook, stirring frequently, until the spinach has wilted.
- Repeat with remaining spinach and cook until all of the spinach has wilted; about 3 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from the heat; set aside.
To prepare the lasagna filling:
- Pour half of the cottage cheese into a food processor and blend until smooth; about 1 minute; transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl.
- No need to rinse out the bowl of the food processor; just put it back onto the machine as you will use it later.
- Transfer the cooked vegetables and spinach mixture to the bowl of the food processor.
- Pulse until finely chopped (but not puréed); about 5 to 7 times, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary.
- Transfer the mixture to the bowl of whipped cottage cheese.
- Top with the remaining cottage cheese and add ¼ to ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste and lots of freshly ground black pepper; stir to combine.
To assemble the lasagna:
- Spread ½ cup tomato sauce evenly over the bottom of a 9 x 9-inch baking dish.
- Layer 3 lasagna noodles on top; snap off their ends to fit and/or overlap edges as necessary.
- Spread half of the cottage cheese mixture evenly over the noodles.
- Top with ¾ cup tomato sauce; then sprinkle ½ cup shredded cheese on top.
- Top with 3 more noodles, followed by the remaining cottage cheese mixture; there will be any tomato sauce in this layer.
- Sprinkle ½ cup shredded cheese on top.
- Top with 3 more noodles; then spread ¾ cup tomato sauce over the top to evenly cover the noodles; there maybe extra sauce leftover.
- Sprinkle evenly with 1 cup shredded cheese.
- Wrap a sheet of aluminum foil around the top of the lasagna; be careful to not let it come into contact with the cheese.
- Place in the pre-heated oven and ake, covered, for 18 minutes.
- Remove the aluminun foil; rotate the pan by 180° and continue cooking for about 10 to 15 more minutes or until the top is turning spotty brown.
- Remove from oven and let the lasagna cool for 15 to 20 minutes so it has time to set and cool down to a reasonable temperature.
- Sprinkle basil (optional) over the top; slice and serve.
Notes
To re-heat lasagna from the refrigerator, pre-heat the oven to 350°F; place the lasagna in an oven-safe dish; cover loosely with aluminum foil; bake until heated through; usually takes around 30 minutes; you can add a splash of water or sauce on top to prevent dryness while reheating.
Key points to remember:
1. Oven is best: The oven is generally considered the best method for re-heating lasagna as it evenly heats the dish without drying it out.
2. Cover with foil: Always cover the lasagna with foil to retain moisture while reheating.
3. Add liquid if needed: If the lasagna seems dry, add a little bit of water or sauce on top before reheating.
4. Check for doneness: Use a food thermometer to ensure the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
5. Crisp the top: To brown the cheese on top, remove the foil for the last few minutes of baking.