Thursday, December 21, 2006

Roast Vegetable Lasagne


燒雜菜千層麵
Category: Pasta, Entree, Potluck
Style: Italian, Western
Difficulty: Easy
Portion: Serves 8

Ingredients
6 tomatoes, thickly sliced, seeds removed
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 large eggplant, thickly sliced
3 red bell peppers, cut into 8 pieces
2 zucchini, thickly sliced lengthwise
1 medium sized onion, thinly sliced
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
9 dried lasagne sheets (or use fresh)
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
filling
2 lb ricotta cheese
1 pack fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
2 eggs
3/4 cup whipping cream
salt and pepper to taste

Procedures
Preheat oven to 350F.
Place tomatoes, sweet potatoes, eggplant, bell peppers, zucchini, onion and mushrooms on baking trays lined with parchment paper. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 40 minutes or until tender and golden.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt generously. Cook pasta until al dente, according to package instruction. Drain and set aside. Skip this step if using fresh pasta.
To make ricotta filling: Whisk to combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
Grease a 13 x 9 inches baking dish with olive oil. Line with 3 lasagne sheets. Place on top half of the vegetables, and about half of the ricotta filling. Top with another layer of pasta, vegetable and filling. Top with a final layer of pasta. Smear a little bit of ricotta filling on top, and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 45 minutes. Serve hot.
To serve in a pot-luck setting, you can bake the lasagne the night before, keep it in the fridge and reheat in a 350F oven for 20 minutes or in a microwave. Or better yet, you can pre-assemble the lasagne at home and bake on-site.

Tips
When baking the lasange, put the baking dish on a foil-lined cookie sheet to catch the overflow of the sauce. This will save you from cleaning the oven afterwards.

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