Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

In my search to find ways of making my favorite dishes more healthful, I wanted to come up with a recipe that offers the comfort of lasagna without the overload of calories.  What did I come up with?  A vegetarian alternative that puts the focus on the ingredients, not masked by tons of cheese.  By using part skim ricotta, and only half of a cup, I was able to cut down calories and fat, without compromising flavor.  

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna; tender layers of zucchini, acorn squash, eggplant and bell peppers, slow roasted with basil and thyme then layered with a light marinara, roasted garlic, mushrooms and ricotta.  The vegetables eliminate the need for pasta sheets, lightening the dish, with a little indulgence that comes from the creamy ricotta, no over load here! 

Serves 4

Two zucchini

Once acorn squash

One eggplant

Three red, orange or yellow bell peppers
1 cup cremini mushrooms (also known as baby bella mushrooms)

Two heads of garlic

1 tbsp dried basil

1 tbsp dried thyme

28 oz crushed tomatoes

One bunch fresh basil

Three garlic cloves, peeled and bruised

1/2 cup low fat ricotta

Olive oil

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Thinly slice the zucchini, acorn squash, egg plant, mushrooms and bell pepper, drizzle with just enough olive oil to add moisture, season with salt and pepper, dried thyme and basil, slice off the top of the heads of garlic just enough to expose the cloves, then toss and spread evenly onto a cookie sheet or roasting tray.  Cook until tender about 45 minutes to an hour.

Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees.

In a deep pan, heat one tablespoon of olive oil, add the garlic cloves and allow to lightly fry for a few minutes, then pick the basil leaves and add them as well.  Once fragrant, pour in the tomatoes while stirring, let the sauce cook, simmering, for 20 minutes then remove from the heat.  Allow the sauce to cool slightly before blending it in a food processor.  Season again with salt and pepper to taste.

In a bowl, squeeze out the roasted garlic cloves, smash, mix into the ricotta, then chop the roasted mushrooms and fold them into the mixture as well..

To assemble the lasagna; start by adding a little sauce to the bottom of the dish, layer the eggplant slices, then top with enough sauce to cover and one fourth of the ricotta mixture, alternating through the remaining vegetable slices, ricotta and marinara leaving a enough to top off the last layer last, then bake until bubbling.  Before serving; allow the lasagna to sit for at least 15 minutes before slicing.  Enjoy!