Serves 12

Ingredients:

1 sweet onion, chopped
1-2 T olive oil
1 large or 2 small/medium Asian eggplant (or 6 large Fairy Tale eggplants)
10 oz spinach
1 (15 oz) container ricotta
1 lb fresh mozzarella, cut into small pieces
3 eggs
1 T garlic powder (more if your sauce is not garlicky enough)
1 t oregano
1/4 t ground black pepper
5 cups marinara or other more garlicky pasta sauce
15 large fresh basil leaves, rinsed, torn, and added to the sauce
12 sheets no-boil lasagne noodles, less than one 9 oz package
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese, divided use

Spoon Mage™ Note:

This is the full out cheesy version. If you need to make it low fat, purchase low fat ricotta, reduce to 1 or 2 eggs, double the veggies and decrease the cheese by about half. You will need to dot the cheese over the surface. Fresh mozzarella will spread anyway, so you are good. If you need to go even lower in fat and calories, make something else.

Do not slice eggplant until shortly before searing. Once cut, cover the slices with an only slightly damp paper towel until it is time to place them into the pan.

There is no need to peel the thin mild tasting skin from fairy tale or Chinese eggplants.

The skin of globe eggplants is a little thicker and slightly bitter tasting to some people. Let your taste buds determine whether you peel it or not.

Make this a weeknight recipe by slicing the veggies thinly and skipping the searing. Then use 2 jars of your favorite pasta sauce. My favorite brands are Orti De Calabria or Raos. Stir it up in a bowl and add the basil.

If using regular lasagna noodles, pre-boil them per package directions. You will need to reduce the sauce by a cup. No-boil noodles require a little more sauce in order to plump up and 5 cups will simply drown boiled noodles. Lasagna soup does sound delicious though.

Directions:

Chop onions and slice the eggplant into 1/4 inch thick rounds. Cover the rounds with a very slightly damp paper towel.

In a large skillet that has been set over medium-high heat to where it is very hot, add the olive oil. Let the oil heat for 30 seconds. Then tilt the pan to coat the entire surface with a thin layer of oil.

Add the onion. Stir infrequently, allowing the onion to brown a little. Total cooking time is only about 4 minutes at this heat. If it takes longer, you likely did not wait for the pan to get hot. No worries, but remember that the goal is to brown, not caramelize. When the onions start to brown, remove them to a small bowl, and proceed to the next step.

Add the eggplant slices to the pan. If there is no oil left from the onions, add 1-2 teaspoon more. Not too much though as you do not want the slices to get oily. The idea is to sear each piece well with infrequent turnings. Let the pieces develop lovely browned areas then flip. You will notice a change in aroma when this happens. This will take about 4 minutes and the eggplant may or may not fully cook here. No worries, they’ll finish cooking in the oven.

Reduce heat to medium and add the spinach (more oil if need be). Stir well and frequently – you do not want the spinach to brown. You do want it to exude the juices and cook down a bit.

Remove the spinach from the pan and place in a small bowl or small mesh strainer. The veggies needs to be prepped a little early so things cool a bit, making it easier for you to handle later. It makes it a lot easier to squish out the remaining water from the spinach if it is well cooled. Once the spinach has cooled, squish the spinach well so your lasagne is not soggy! You can now choose to mix the veggies together for layering or layer them individually. Your are the cook!

In a small bowl, combine the mozzarella, ricotta, eggs, black pepper, garlic powder, and oregano. Inhale the aroma… does it need more garlic? What recipe doesn’t?!

In another bowl, stir the pasta sauce with all the torn basil. Taste and if your sauce is acidic, add brown sugar.

All of this can be done earlier in the day and then kept covered in the refrigerator with the cheese mixture until it is time to assemble.

How to assemble:

Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with non-stick spray.

Spread 1 cup of the basil infused pasta sauce over the bottom of the dish.

Place 3 sheets of no-boil lasagne noodles on top of the sauce – horizontally for the short noodles or lengthwise for the longer noodles – or use the package directions for how many to place in each layer. Press slightly. No-boil pasta expands when it cooks, so don’t worry if it doesn’t cover the bottom.

Spread 1 cup of sauce on top of the lasagne noodles.

Ladle on about 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture. Spread around a bit with the back of a spoon. It’s okay if it mixes with the sauce and there is no need to cover the entire thing.

Dot the cheesy surface with 1/3 of the onions, 1/3 of the eggplant, and 1/3 of the spinach. You will not have enough veggies to cover the surface, so just spread them out evenly.

Sprinkle with 1/3 cup Parmesan.

Repeat the layer: 3 noodles, 1 cup sauce, 1/3 of the ricotta cheese, 1/3 of the vegetables, 1/3 cup Parmesan.

Repeat the layers one more time (a total of three cheese veggie layers): 3 noodles, 1 cup sauce, the last of the ricotta cheese, the last of the vegetables, 1/3 cup Parmesan.

Top the whole with 3 final noodles, pressing in slightly, dot with any remaining sauce, and sprinkle with 1 cup Parmesan.

Cover tightly with foil – I do recommend Reynold’s Non-Stick foil so you don’t lose any cheese that wants to stick to the foil – and bake at 375 for 1 hour, or until bubbly.

In case you managed to squish in a little more sauce or veggies than called for,  or perhaps you didn’t remember to squish the water out of the spinach, make sure you have something beneath the pan to catch the overflow!

Remove the foil and bake for 15 more minutes, or until the top browns up nicely. The more brown the better. Trust me here or there will be fights at the table for who gets the browned goodness.

Let it rest out of the oven, uncovered, for 15 minutes before serving with a nice Chianti and a beautiful crunchy green salad. Don’t skip the rest time. That casserole is hot! The time gives everything a chance to settle and for the final liquids to be absorbed by the pasta.

Enjoy!