Vegetable Lasagna

With the bounty of fresh vegetables from our farm share and our garden, Mr. E. decided that it was time to revive his Sunday evening cooking ritual and make a vegetable lasagna. Lasagna is known as one of those dishes that is easy to prepare... we have yet to create a lasagna that takes less than an hour to prep. However, this one (courtesy of Mr. E's favorite celebrity chef, Giada) was yummy and BIG... aka lots of leftovers!

Individual Vegetable Lasagnas

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis (modified by E)

Serves:
6 servings (we thought it was closer to 8 or 10)

Ingredients

* 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 medium Spanish onion, finely chopped
* 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
* 1 medium zucchini, finely chopped
* 1 medium summer squash, finely chopped
* 8 asparagus spears, cut into 1/4-inch slices (or spinach!)
* 1 pound fresh plain lasagna sheets
* 2 jars tomato sauce
* 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
* 3 cups shredded mozzarella
* 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
* 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, halved
* Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a saute pan over medium heat, add extra-virgin olive oil. When almost smoking, add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the carrot and cook for 3 minutes. Add the zucchini and squash cook for 5 minutes. Add asparagus and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat when all vegetables are completely cooked but still have a good crunch. Allow to cool.

Coat the bottom of a 13x9 dish with tomato sauce. Place pasta on the bottom of the dish. Next, a layer of the veggies. Place a second layer of pasta on top and gently press down. Add another layer of sauteed vegetables and top with tomato sauce. Place the third layer of pasta in each ramekin and coat with tomato sauce. Sprinkle with the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, and top each with 1/2 tablespoon of butter. Bake in oven for 50 minutes or until brown and bubbling.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes

Ease of Preparation: Easy