Spinach Lasagne- Sara

SPINACH LASAGNA-Sara

• 12  lasagna noodles
• 1 bag spinach, washed/drained
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
  1 med onion, chopped
  2  garlic cloves, minced
  1 zucchini, halved and sliced (opt)
  8 oz tomato sauce
  6 oz tomato paste
  1 cup water (or broth) 
  1 tsp       honey
  3/4 tsp    dried basil, crumbled
  3/4 tsp    dried oregano, crumbled
  salt and pepper, to taste
  2-3         tomatoes (opt)
  2 cups    Ricotta cheese 
  2 cups    Mozzarella cheese, grated 
  1 cup      Parmesan cheese·        
  • Cook lasagna noodles in boiling salted water until just tender but still firm. Drain and set aside. Place spinach in steamer over medium heat and cook briefly to lessen volume. Drain well and set aside.
    Preheat oven to 350F. Heat oil in medium skillet over mediumhigh heat.  Add onion and sauté until softened. Add garlic and sauté a few minutes more. Stir in tomato sauce and paste, water, 
    honey, basil, oregano and salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Lay 6 noodles on the bottom of a 9x13inch baking dish. Gently lay all spinach over layer of noodles. Spread all of ricotta and one cup of mozzarella evenly over spinach. Top with half of the 
    sauce mixture. Cover with remaining noodles and rest of sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese remaining mozzarella (optional).  Then cover and bake until heated entirely and cheeses are melted, 20 to 25 minutes (more if you add zucchini and fresh tomatoes).
  • Optional: Add about 1 medium zucchini, peeled and thinly sliced, to the pan after the onions but before the garlic. Peel two or three fresh tomatoes, slice them thickly, season them with a bit  (if you don't like the peels on them, you can blanch them in boiling water for a few seconds, then slip off peels before slices).
    of salt, freshly ground black pepper, and garlic powder and place over ricotta before mozzarella.  I always do this and it seems tastier to us!  (This recipe may look harder than it is...but once you 
    do it a couple of times it goes pretty quick and it’s worth it especially for company.  You can also simplify this by using your favorite spaghetti sauce or marinara (adding sauted veggies).  But, this one is worth the time!