CHEESY SPINACH VEGETABLE LASAGNA BY NOREEN

Cheesy Spinach Vegetable Lasagna by Noreen image

I had to come up with a meatless main course for dinner. I worked with the ingredients I had On hand. The dish came out delicious! My husband And In Laws love it. This is being added to my list as one of our favorite Italian meals. I did not miss the meat at all in this dish. You may add some sautéed Chicken breast chunks iand Garlic to the layer of white sauce. That will be tasty too. Enjoy all!

Provided by Nor Mac @Adashofloverecipepage

Categories Pasta

Number Of Ingredients 28

Ingredients

SIMPLE LASAGNA NOODLES MAKE A DAY AHEAD
8 ounce(s) fresh spinach,or 10 ounces thawed spinach. slightly squeeze out moisture
2 cup(s) flour plus up to an additional cup
1 tablespoon(s) olive oil
1 teaspoon(s) salt
2 - eggs
MARINARA SAUCE WITH VEGGIES
2 - 24 ounce jars marinara sauce. ( i use fransesco rinaldi)
1 cup(s) baby carrots chopped in small chunks in food processor
1/2 - large sweet onion chopped
1 - red or green bell pepper chopped
2 teaspoon(s) chopped garlic
1 teaspoon(s) dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoon(s) italian seasoning
WHITE SAUCE
2 tablespoon(s) butter
3 tablespoon(s) flour
1 1/2 cup(s) milk ( skim, 2% or whole milk
1/2 teaspoon(s) nutmeg
- salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup(s) pamagiano reggiano grated
CHEESE AND SPINACH TOPPINGS
24 ounce(s) cottage cheese (1 1/2 containers)
1/2 cup(s) parmigiano-reggiano, grated
1 1/2 teaspoon(s) parsley flakes
1 - egg beaten
2-3 cup(s) mozzarella cheese
8 ounce(s) cooked spinach water squeezed out

Steps:

Rinse spinach well. Place in a covered pot. You don't need extra water. The leaves are wet. Place on medium high heat. Stir and check on spinach. Cook until done about 5-10 minutes. Rinse under cold water. Squeeze at least half of the juice out of the spinach. You may save juice to cook noodles in. Place drsined snd squeezed Spinach in a food processor. Add the salt eggs and the oil. Pulse until it is blended and pureed.
Place The flour in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the pile of flour. Pour spinach mixture into well. Mix well with spoon. Knead well with hands. If it is sticky add a little bit of flour at a time to it. Keep turning and kneading it until stickiness is gone and it is elastic. Add flour as necessary to accomplish this. It will still be slightly sticky but you'll see the elasticity. Make into a ball set aside to rest for five minutes.
Take the ball of dough. Divide it in half. Place on a floured surface. Flour both sides of 1/2 the ball. Make into a rectangle. Roll dough until it is about 12 x 12" long. Cut six 2 inch strips out of dough with sharp knife. Remove strips to lay on racks. Repeat with other half of dough. You should have 12 noodles. Trim noodles to size of pan you are using for Lasagna. 9x13 For this recipe. Noodles will stretch a bit when you remove them from floured surface. That is fine. Lay noodles between sheets of waxed paper. Cover well. Place in fridge. Use within 24 hours. Make sure to cook noodles in boiling water for 10 minutes before layering.
Make Marinara sauce. Empty jars into large sauce pan. Add the chopped carrots, basil, Italian seasoning, and Garlic into the sauce. Heat burner to high. Stir until it boils. Reduce heat to low. While simmering. Sauté peppers and onions in a tablespoon of olive oil. Cook until onions are translucent. Add to sauce. Leave sauce to simmer. ( note: you can make this a day ahead as well if wanted)
Make white sauce: melt butter in a small pan. Add flour. Stir to make a paste. Add milk, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Cook and stir constantly over medium heat until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in 1/4 cup Parmagiano cheese. Set aside.
Mix cottage cheese with 1/2 cup parmigiano cheese and parsley. Add the egg and stir well to combine.
Cook noodles for 10 minutes in boiling water. I cook mine in the same water I cooked the spinach in. Just add more water if needed. Drain pasta. In a 13x 9 inch pan. Place 1/2 the Marinara vegetable sauce on bottom of pan. Lay 4 noodles on top. Top with 1/2 the cottage cheese mixture. Scatter 1/4 cup - 1/2 cup of the marinerra on top. Place 4 noodles over it. Pour white sauce over noodles. Spread evenly. Top with the rest of the cottage cheese mixture. Scatter Spinach over it. Place the remaining noodles on top. Top with the remaining Marinerra sauce. Top the sauce with the Mozzarella cheese.
Place in oven with oil sprayed foil laying over top loosely. Spray dull side foil with oil. Lay oiled side on top of lasagna. Do not enclose lasagna with foil. It is just to prevent cheese from over browning. Bake about 45 minutes. Remove foil. Continue baking until Mozzarella is melted nicely and slightly browning. Remove from oven. Let it rest 30 minutes before cutting. Cut with spatula and serve.