Vegetarian lasagna with tomato sauce
starter soup brunch- 12 oz fresh lasagne pasta sheets
- ½ celery stalk, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- about ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil2 cups tomato passata (pureed tomatoes)
- 1-2 zucchini, washed and diced
- 1 eggplant, washed and diced (peel or don’t peel, as you choose)
- 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
- 3 ½ ounces dry white wine
- 1 lb whole milk ricotta
- 2-3 oz grated pecorino cheese
- salt to taste
- pinch of red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper
In a saucepan, gently sauté the onion, celery and garlic in the olive oil, over a low heat for 3-4 minutes, until they soften and lightly color. Add the zucchini, eggplant, and carrot, and cook them for a further 2-3 minutes over a low-medium heat., until they too soften. Season with salt, a pinch of chili, turn up the heat, add the wine and let it reduce to about half its volume. Add the tomato passata and cook for 15 minutes or so on a medium heat. Taste and adjust the salt if necessary. In a square or oblong baking pan, about 12-14/10 inches and about 4 inches deep, spoon a little of the tomato-vegetable sauce, then layer a few sheets of pasta. Over the pasta sheets, spoon a little vegetable sauce, dot with ricotta, then sprinkle with pecorino, and top with another layer of pasta sheets. Continue layering alternating pasta, ricotta, vegetable sauce, grated pecorino cheese, finishing with a layer of vegetable sauce and a sprinkling of pecorino cheese. Bake in a preheated 375°F oven for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven, lightly cover with foil, and let it stand for a few minutes to firm up. Serve right away.