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Old World Lasagna Primavera

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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 not 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 bake, covered, for 20 minutes.
  • Remove the aluminum foil; rotate the pan by 180° and continue cooking for about 20 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 45 - 60 minutes (or an internal temperature reaches 165°F); 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.  Crisp the top: To brown the cheese on top, remove the foil for the last few minutes of baking.