You Asked For It: Vegetable Lasagna

By Ellen Folkman, Times Correspondent
In Print: Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Story Tools

I am looking for a vegetable lasagna recipe published in this paper years ago. I recall it having a mushroom base and a green vegetable. Can any readers help?

Verna Privitera, Clearwater and Toronto, Canada

Georgia Cook of Inverness and Joan Burger of Oldsmar both sent the recipe for Verna. This is a very versatile four-cheese lasagna. While the recipe calls for either spinach or broccoli — I used spinach — you could experiment with other vegetables that suit your taste. Try bell peppers, zucchini or yellow squash to change it up a bit. You would need to saute those with the mushrooms, onion and garlic. My 9- by 13-inch glass baking dish held nine lasagna noodles perfectly. I greased the baking dish with a light coating of olive oil. Cook a few extra noodles in the event some tear or you need to cut some to fit your baking dish. This lasagna is a yummy dish but I felt it could use a bit more seasoning or maybe an extra garlic clove. While preparation is a bit labor intensive, it's great that this dish can be made in advance. You can prepare and assemble the lasagna up to 48 hours before baking, making it perfect for a midweek dinner. Make it on Sunday and enjoy on Tuesday.

Recipe requests

St. Petersburg resident Linda Harris has lost her copy of the Texas chili cookoff recipe that was in Parade magazine in the late 1970s. She remembers it began with 8 pounds of ground chuck, chili powder and a can of beer. Her requests to Parade have gone unanswered so she hopes a reader has the recipe.

Carol Rittenhouse of Palm Harbor would like a recipe for GrillSmith's pumpkin crab soup. She has tried a few pumpkin soups on the Internet but none have the great flavor of GrillSmith's. Can anyone help?

Recipes tested by Times correspondent Ellen Folkman unless otherwise noted. Send requests to You Asked For It, P.O. Box 1159, Crystal Beach, FL 34681 or email youaskedforit@tampabay.rr.com. Include your name, city and phone number.

>>MODERATE

Vegetable Lasagna

8 ounces lasagna noodles

2 eggs

2 cups reduced-fat cream-style cottage cheese

2 cups reduced-fat ricotta cheese

1 ½ teaspoons dried Italian seasoning, crushed

2 tablespoons margarine or butter

2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

1 small onion, chopped, about 1/3 cup

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

½ to 1 teaspoon pepper

1 ¼ cups milk

2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach or chopped broccoli, thawed and thoroughly drained

1 medium carrot, shredded, about ½ cup

¾ cup shredded Parmesan cheese (3 ounces), divided

1 (8-ounce) package shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (2 cups)

Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions, drain and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat eggs slightly; stir in cottage cheese, ricotta and Italian seasoning. Set aside.

In a large skillet, melt butter or margarine over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, onion and garlic and cook until tender. Stir in the flour and pepper; add milk all at once. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly, then cook and stir 1 minute more. Remove from heat. Stir in spinach or broccoli, carrot and ½ cup of the Parmesan cheese.

To assemble, in a greased 9- by 13-inch baking dish, layer a third of the noodles, folding or cutting to fit, if necessary. Spread with a third of the cottage cheese mixture, then a third of the spinach mixture. Sprinkle with a third of the mozzarella. Repeat the layers 2 more times. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake lasagna immediately or chill for up to 48 hours.

To bake immediately: Bake uncovered in a 350-degree oven for about 35 minutes or until heated through. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

To make ahead: Cover lasagna with foil and chill. Bake covered in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 30 to 35 minutes more or until heated through. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Makes 12 main dish servings.

[Last modified: Feb 07, 2012 03:30 AM]