One For The Road

By: Teri

My father is always experimenting with new ideas to cook for me when I come over. He isn't a vegetarian, but he makes a great effort at including me in the family meals. It's a clever ploy to get me to bring the Grandson over to see him. But hey, I don't mind being bribed with good food.

I thought I'd quickly share a recipe he's been tweaking for vegetarian lasagna. We had this last night and it was amazing. Perfect for the upcoming colder weather! He used all organic ingredients, and a variety of different Heirloom Tomatoes for the different flavors. The basil was fresh from his own plant. If you don't have a basil plant, you'll want to buy a few sprigs of the fresh stuff from the grocery. It isn't the same without it.

John's Vegetarian Lasagna with Heirloom Tomatoes and Caramelized Onions

(how is that for a title!)

1 box whole wheat lasagna noodles, cooked al dente

16 oz (one container) whole milk organic ricotta cheese

1/2 red onion, sliced

1 small green bell or banana pepper, sliced

1 small red chile pepper, seeded and minced

1 large portobello mushroom cap, chopped

1 handful baby spinach leaves

1 small handful fresh basil leaves (NOT torn or chopped!)

2 medium sized Heirloom Tomatoes, sliced

marinara sauce

olive oil

organic cane sugar

oregano

cheese (we used a five cheese organic Italian blend that contained asiago, mozzarella, parmesan, provolone and romano)

Boil noodles to al dente in heavily salted water; once drained, coat lightly with olive oil and set aside. Add sliced onions and bell/banana pepper to olive oil in a small saucepan, set on medium high heat. Add a pinch of sugar and reduce heat to medium, stirring occasionally so as not to burn. Once the onions are light brown and soft (about 10 minutes), remove from heat.

Set aside half the sliced tomatoes. Begin layering the lasagna, starting with noodles, then ricotta, then spinach and basil, then vegetables, then sauce, and repeat until all the noodles are used. On top of the last layer of noodles, lay out the remaining tomatoes and top with cheese, oregano, and if you wish, bread crumbs. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until bubbly. We set the lasagna under the broiler for the last 5 or so minutes to get the top layer very browned.

We didn't have any wine with this meal (shocking!), but I can't imagine any smooth red that wouldn't go with it amazingly. This lasagna has a lot of depth, being that it has elements of sweet (the caramelized onions and basil), spicy (the red chilies), and savory (the portobellos). You could subsitute and/or add just about any vegetable you desired, but we liked this particular combination. Its also reasonably healthy; all our ingredients were organic, and save for the cheeses, nothing was particularly fattening.

The best part: the leftovers are even better than the first time you eat it.

Bellissimo!