Lasagna Revisited…

Sometimes you want to make something easy, like Potato Chowder. Other times, you want to make something from scratch…

I was planning on making lasagna anyway, but my blogger friend, Tiffany, recently made her lasagna with artichokes. I thought adding artichokes was a great idea, so I incorporated them into my lasagna.

Now here is a lasagna chock-full of veggies, I nearly called it Rainbow Lasagna because it has so many colorful veggies in it.

Red/Orange/Yellow – tomatoes, carrots, artichoke hearts
Green – spinach, zucchini, celery
Blue/Violet – I don’t have any, unfortunately.
White/Brown – onion, garlic, mushrooms

I made my usual lasagna… with tweaks…

☀ added artichoke hearts
☀ added white cooking wine to the red sauce
☀ added more nutritional yeast to the béchamel sauce
☀ and the coolest one of all… I used lasagna noodles straight out of the box (not the no-bake kind)

The verdict? Awesome! The noodles came out perfectly, and the béchamel sauce added a yummy creaminess. Mmmmm… I’m hungry just thinking about it!

* Rather than trying to explain what I did while pointing you to my old recipe… I’ll reconstruct it here, with the new changes. But feel free to check out my usual lasagna & red sauce recipe.

This can be a bit involved, my suggestion is to work in this order (follow links to each task or just continue to scroll down)…

1. start red sauce simmering
2. saute mushrooms
3. make bean mixture
4. make béchamel sauce
5. assemble lasagna

---

Red Sauce

☀ 1 Tbsp. olive oil
☀ 1 onion, diced
☀ 1 carrot, sliced
☀ 2 stalks celery w/ leaves, diced
☀ 3 cloves garlic, minced
☀ 1 zucchini, diced
☀ pinch of salt
☀ dash pepper
☀ 1/2 tsp each basil, oregano, marjoram
☀ splash white cooking wine (about 1/2 cup)
☀ 1 bay leaf
☀ 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
☀ 16 oz can tomato sauce

In a large pot, over medium heat, add olive oil then saute onion, celery, carrots, zucchini and garlic with a pinch of salt. Until onion starts to become translucent. Add pepper, basil, oregano, and marjoram. Add cooking wine and let simmer until wine has reduced. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer. Cover, simmer for 20-30 minutes. Taste, adjust seasonings. Remove from heat, keep covered.

---

Sauteed Mushrooms & Artichokes

☀ 1 Tbsp. olive oil
☀ 1 pkg baby bella mushrooms, sliced
☀ pinch of salt
☀ 1/4 tsp each basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme
☀ 1/2 jar marinated artichoke hearts, cut into small pieces

In a skillet, over medium heat, add olive oil then saute mushrooms with a pinch of salt. Allow the mushrooms to sweat for a few minutes. Add basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme, and artichokes. Saute until mushrooms start to look dry. Remove from heat.

---

Bean Mixture

☀ 1 can navy beans, I used Eden and did not drain
☀ ~1 tsp. olive oil
☀ pinch of salt
☀ 1/8 tsp each basil, oregano, and marjoram
☀ dash of pepper

In a bowl, add about half the beans without liquid. Mash beans with the back of the spoon. Add rest of beans with liquid, olive oil, salt, basil, oregano, marjoram, and pepper; stir to combine, set aside.

---

Béchamel Sauce

☀ 2 Tbsp. soy garden or margarine
☀ 2 Tbsp. flour
☀ 2 cups soy milk
☀ 1 tsp. of each basil, oregano, marjoram
☀ salt & pepper
☀ 3 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
☀ 2 tsp. arrow root

Melt the soy garden in a sauce pan, over med heat. Whisk in flour and cook for a minute or two, to cook the flour. Pour in soy milk, slowly, whisking constantly, to prevent clumps. Whisk in basil, oregano, marjoram, salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast. Continually whisk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Whisk in arrow root, be careful not to dump it in, or else it will clump. Simmer, whisking continually, until desired thickness. Taste and adjust seasonings. Remove from heat.

---

Lasagna

☀ 1 box lasagna noodles (20 noodles; if you have only 16 noodles, combine a layer), uncooked
☀ 1 pkg baby spinach, fresh (5oz)
☀ red sauce
☀ sauteed mushrooms & artichoke hearts
☀ bean mixture
☀ béchamel sauce

Preheat oven to 375°.

You don’t need to cook the noodles or even soak the noodles ahead of time, use them straight out of the box. The red sauce and bean mixture supply enough moisture to cook the noodles to a great consistency (not mushy, not crunchy, but just right )

Assembly

1. red sauce on bottom of pan
2. noodle layer
3. red sauce,
   top with noodle layer
4. bean mixture,
   top with noodle layer
5. sauteed mushrooms & artichoke hearts with a small amount of béchamel sauce,
   top with noodle layer
6. fresh spinach
7. with rest of béchamel sauce
8. noodle layer
9. red sauce covering all noodles and stray spinach leaves
10. Bake, covered with aluminum foil, for 45 minutes. Then uncover and bake an additional 25 minutes. Let lasagna rest 10-15 minutes before serving.

---

Serve with a side of green olives (not pictured) and some garlic bread. Enjoy!

Wow if you read all of this, I thank you! Sure this recipe takes a bit of time, but it is soooo worth it. I hope you make it, tell me how it turned out.

Q: What blue/violet veggie would you add to the lasagna?

Until next time…
~nic

Advertisement