There are many different vegetable lasagna recipes but this one is packed with vegetables for a wholesome flavor. Not only is it rich in vegetables but it is packed with fresh vegetables. Fresh vegetables are great because they do not go mushy (unless you really overcook them) like their frozen or canned cousins.
The clean, herby, grassy notes of a Sauvignon Blanc will stand up to the acidic nature of the vegetables and cut through their sweetness, making it the perfect California wine to serve with this vegetable lasagna recipe. Lasagna is traditionally for carnivores but why should vegetarians have to miss out? With the vegetables giving this vegetable lasagna recipe plenty of flavor and the three types of cheese giving it a creamy richness, even the carnivores will love this tasty vegetarian alternative and they won't miss the meat at all.
This vegetarian lasagna recipe must bake for just over half an hour, giving you plenty of time to work on the salad you could serve alongside it.
Ingredients -
6 lasagna sheets
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt
8 oz small curd cottage cheese
¾ lb ricotta cheese
1 ¼ cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 carrots, thinly sliced
½ large onion, chopped
1 head fresh broccoli, chopped
¼ cup and 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, divided
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 small zucchini, sliced
1 ½ cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups milk
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed
Bell pepper rings, to serve
Sprigs of thyme, to serve
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. Add the lasagna sheets to a large pan of boiling salted water and cook for 8 minutes. Drain. Heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium heat. When hot, add the carrots, broccoli, onions, zucchini, bell peppers, and garlic. Sauté for 7 minutes and set aside.
Put the flour in a medium pan and whisk in the milk. Bring to a boil over a medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring all the time. Remove from the heat and stir in the spinach, reserving ½ cup spinach mixture. Combine the ricotta and cottage cheese in a small bowl.
Spread ½ cup of the spinach mixture on the bottom of the casserole dish. Layer the pasta, ricotta mixture, vegetables and spinach mixture and mozzarella. End with the pasta. Top with the reserved spinach mixture, the rest of the mozzarella and the Parmesan. Bake for 35 minutes or until lightly browned and remove from the oven. Meanwhile sauté the bell pepper rings in a little butter or oil for 2 minutes. Cool the vegetable lasagna for 10 minutes and serve with the bell pepper rings and thyme sprig for decoration.
(Serves 4)
Wine Suggestion:
The clean, herby, grassy notes of a Sauvignon Blanc will stand up to the acidic nature of the vegetables and cut through their sweetness, making it the perfect California wine to serve with this vegetable lasagna recipe. Alternatively, a buttery, tropical chardonnay with its citrus flavors will go well with vegetable lasagna too.
Photo Description:
A Picture of a Healthy Vegetable Lasagna Recipe with Carrots, Onion, Broccoli, Spinach, Zucchini, and Bell Peppers - this dish is made with a plethora of veggies for a light and healthy vegetable lasagna. Now before you go asking where is the meat try it and you will find even the biggest of your carnivores will be more than satisfied with this wonderful vegetable lasagna recipe.
White wines are always served chilled because they are more delicate than reds. Riesling can vary in nature but is usually quite sweet and very easy to drink. Seafood and poultry go very well with Riesling. Gewürztraminer is another example of a California sweet white wine, as is Chenin Blanc. These wines go very well with spicy foods, desserts, and fruit.
Their sweetness can stand up to the spiciness of an exotic recipe or the existing sweetness in a dessert dish. Viognier is a very special California sweet white wine, which is very nice with crab cakes, spicy seafood, and most fish dishes. Over 20 wineries in California produce this varietal.
The aroma from this wine is of peaches, spice, apricots, citrus and honeysuckle and it has a much stronger sweet smell than either Muscat or Riesling. Viognier is sweet yet not cloying, very vibrant, fresh and is a California wine, which is quickly growing in popularity.
Not many red wines are sweet but when a red wine is sweet, it is described as being "fruity." Fruit wines tend to be sweet and strawberry wine is especially good. This might be made only from strawberries or from strawberries with grapes and maybe another fruit like peach. Sugar is added to the strawberries as they ferment. Fragola is another sweet wine and this is made from fragola grapes. This grape tastes a bit like strawberries, which is why the resulting wine is sweet and tastes like berries.
Lambrusco is a sweetish red wine, which is fruity rather than sweet like fruit wine or dessert wine. It has plum and blackberry flavors and is great for teaming with barbecued food or a picnic. Beaujolais is a young red wine with sweet flavors. Beaujolais Nouveau is a special wine, released on the third Thursday of November every year. A Lambrusco or Beaujolais might be great with savory dishes like vegetable lasagna recipes if you prefer sweeter wines.
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