Heirloom Tomato and Eggplant Lasagne
Ingredients:
12 no boil lasagna noodle sheets
6 cups homemade tomato sauce or (2 jars of store bought spaghetti sauce in a pinch!)
2-3 large Heirloom tomatoes, thinly sliced (combine golden yellow and brilliant red varieties)
1 bunch spinach leaves (veins removed)
1 large eggplant, sliced paper-thin
Ricotta Cheese Spread:
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 15-ounce container part skim ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, leaves stripped from stems
1/2 teaspoon dried chili peppers
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Make Ricotta Cheese Spread
Combine ricotta cheese, egg, Italian parsley, oregano, garlic, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup mozzarella Cheese. Set aside.
3. Spray a 13 x 9 inch glass pan with nonstick spray if you're serving a crowd, or two smaller glass pans. I will often make this recipe using two smaller pans; one for dinner, and one for later. It freezes really well.
4. Assemble lasagne.
Ladle 1/2 of tomato sauce in the bottom of the pan. Then place 3 no-boil lasagne pasta sheets on top. This is your foundational layer.
Layer as follows: (You should have 3 complete layers; beginning with 3 sheets of lasagne)
Tomato Sauce
Eggplant slices
Tomato slices
Ricotta cheese mixture
Spinach, layered with lightly overlapping leaves
Light sprinkling of mozzarella cheese
Continue layering lasagna 3 times. Top with remaining tomato sauce, three slices of tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.
Cover baking pan with foil and bake at 375° for about an hour. Remove foil, add additional sprinkling of mozzarella cheese and continue baking another 15 or more minutes until the cheese has melted, is slightly browned and the lasagne is bubbling.
Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
Here is another of our favorite lasagne recipes: Garden Vegetable Lasagne
