Published: 02/03/2015 - Updated: 07/13/2016
Author: Nayeli Reyes1 Comments
Lasagna is a classic in Italic cooking, and everybody loves it. No one dares resist its plentiful pasta layers, tomato sauce, white sauce, cheese, and at times, a special filling, like mushrooms or meat.
There’s a lot in it that is great on the tongue, and yet anytime you hear about flour, butter, cheeses, and other fats, we draw back a bit and a sit to think about how we’re just now leaving behind those winter days with so many parties, and more than just one person has gone up a pants size. There are, however, ways of combining a few recipes for tasty creations, by making a few modifications that make them easier to incorporate into your diet. Of course, this doesn’t exempt one from establishing a good exercise routine, because caring for your body doesn’t imply just eating well. But I hope your find the variations on lasagna recipes to be fun and delicious. You’ll be able to surprise everyone at the table whenever you decide to serve a few of them.
Ovo-lacto-vegetarian lasagna with zucchini rather than pasta
Ingredients
- Approx. 6 zucchini
- 3 c. mushrooms
- 2 red peppers
- 2 tomatoes
- ½ c. red wine
- ½ c. peas
- 1 onion
- 400 grams or 1 can of tomatoes
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 pinch of nutmeg
- 1 pinch cinnamon
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 c. ricotta cheese
- ½ c. parmesan cheese
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Thinly dice mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes and the onion. Mix well. In a frying pan, sauté the garlic until lightly golden, add the rest of the vegetables and lightly sauté. Set aside.
- Mash the canned tomatoes and mix with the sautéed vegetables. Add the bay leaf, peas, nutmeg, cinnamon, and red wine. Heat over medium heat, then reduce temperature until creating a thick sauce.
- Cut the zucchini in very thin slices. Place one layer of zucchini in a previously greased pan, then place a thin layer of the ricotta cheese, one lay of the vegetable sauce. Place another layer of the zucchini, ricotta cheese and sauce. Repeat this procedure until all the ingredients are used up. Finish by placing the last layer of zucchini on top, then spread the parmesan cheese over it.
- Bake with aluminum foil over the pan to prevent it from drying out while baking. Bake at 180? C for 20 minutes, or until the zucchini is soft, the cheese is melted, and the edges turn slightly golden.
- You could also use other vegetables that you like, such as carrots or perhaps soy, rather than the mushrooms, to imitate the ground meat.
Lasagna with spinach
Ingredients
- 1 packet of lasagna pasta
- 350 grams fresh spinach
- ½ c. yellow corn kernels
- 1 c. Portobello mushrooms, diced
- ½ onion, diced
- 400 grams or 1 can of tomatoes
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 pinch of nutmeg
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 pinch of cinnamon
- 2 eggs
- 2 c. ricotta cheese
- ¼ c. parmesan cheese
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- In a frying pan with a bit of oil, sauté the garlic until lightly golden. Add the Portobello mushrooms, the onion and carrots, and sauté until the carrots are softened and the onion becomes transparent.
- Add the spinach to the vegetables and lightly cook until the leaves soften and shrink. You could also add the spinach leaves little by little so that the volume doesn’t make them difficult to cook.
- Mash the tomatoes and in a new frying pan, sauté with a bit of oil, nutmeg, the bay leaf, the cinnamon, salt and pepper, until creating a thick sauce.
- Mix the ricotta cheese with the eggs and a bit of salt.
- In a pot with boiling water, cook the pasta until soft, with a bit of salt. Place the first pasta layer on a greased dish, and then add a light layer of ricotta cheese, sauce, and another of vegetables and corn. Repeat this step until all the ingredients are used up.
- Bake by placing a sheet of aluminum foil over the dish for 30 minutes. Then sprinkle the parmesan cheese on the pasta and bake for another 10 minutes, until the cheese melts and the edges look slightly golden.
About the author
Stacy
I’ve never heard of ovo-lacto anything, but now that I read that recipe, it really makes me think of lasagna in a different light! I used to always think of lasagna the way my mother always used to make it, which was a very traditional pasta with meat sauce and she used cottage cheese for the cheese layer. It was great!