Lasagna
This is a vegetarian version of the classic Italian dish. Exotic Mediterranean vegetables enveloped in layers of lasagna and tomato sauce and oodles of olive oil. Mamma Mia!
Serves 4-6
6-8 lasagna sheets
2 cups creamed cottage cheese
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
For the sauce:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3 cups fresh tomato purée
¼ tablespoon tomato paste
½ cup chopped olives
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
½ teaspoon chili flakes
For the layers:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup sliced zucchini
1 cup sliced eggplant
1 cup sliced button mushrooms
½ teaspoon dried oregano
Salt to taste
For making the sauce, start by heating oil in a saucepan. Add the garlic and sauté for half a minute. Add tomato puree and paste and cook for another 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Next, add olives, sugar, salt and pepper. Take off the heat and set aside. If you find the sauce too thick, you could add a little water to get the consistency right.
Tackle the layers of vegetables next. Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan and sauté all the vegetables on a high flame till they are light brown. Add oregano and salt and mix well. Turn off the fire and keep aside.
Cook the lasagna sheets in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Take a lasagna dish and arrange a layer of the cooked lasagna sheets to cover the base.
Put a thin layer of cottage cheese on the lasagna sheets. Top with a single layer of the sautéed vegetables next. Finally pour some of the prepared sauce as the final layer.
Repeat all these layers till you have used up all the lasagna sheets.
Sprinkle grated mozzarella on the topmost layer.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 400 deg. F for about 30 minutes till the cheese is slightly browned.
You can vary the vegetables according to your choice. You could even have a single vegetable in your lasagna instead of a combining several different vegetables.