White Lasagna with Roasted Vegetable Pesto

I LOVE lasagna.  I have a "secret family recipe" for lasagna that is always a hit, but this lasagna is also one for the books!  Whenever I make it, it never lasts very long!  The best part about it (and really most lasagna) is that you can make it ahead of time and even freeze it!  This a great recipe to use up all those late summer and early fall vegetables!  A quick word of advice before making this dish - be sure to season all parts of the lasagna generously, including the pasta.


White Lasagna with Roasted Vegetable Pesto

• 1 pkg. lasagna noodles (or homemade lasagna noodles.  Tonight I used Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Whole Grain pasta but sometimes I make my own)
• 1 large tub ricotta cheese (or about 4 cups of homemade ricotta)
• 2 cups shredded swiss cheese (I like to use a nice swiss like emmenthal or gruyere, but a regular old swiss will work just fine too)
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups grated parmesan cheese (divided)
• 2 small eggplants, peeled and cubed
• 2 small zucchini, peeled and cubed
• 1 large red onion roughly chopped
• 1 large head garlic, peeled and cloves separated
• 1/2 cup pine nuts or walnuts
• 1/4 cup olive oil (divided)
• 1 tbsp. herbes de provence (or a mix of thyme, rosemary, lavender, marjoram, savory, basil, and oregano)
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tbsp. granulated garlic
• salt and pepper to taste

Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions, drain, and set aside. Grease a large casserole dish.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix the eggplant, zucchini, onion, and garlic with half of the olive oil, some salt and pepper.  Roast in the casserole dish in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until the vegetables are very soft, soft enough to be mashed.  When vegetables are done roasting, add them to a food processor along with the nuts, the basil, salt and pepper (a generous amount) and the rest of the olive oil.  Process until smooth and set aside.  In a medium sized bowl, mix the ricotta, the parmesan, the eggs, the granulated garlic, the herbs, half of the parmesan, and a generous amount of salt and pepper.  Grease the casserole dish again.  Spread 1/4 of the veggie pesto on the bottom of the dish, then layer with noodles, another layer of pesto, ricotta mixture, 1/4 of the swiss cheese and parmesan cheese.  Repeat two more times.  Make the top layer with a layer of noodles, the remaining sauce and the rest of the swiss and parmesan cheeses.  Cover the dish with aluminum foil bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.  Uncover and bake another 15 minutes or until the cheese on top is starting to turn golden brown.  This is really lovely served with a tossed green salad.  

Until next time, happy and HEALTHY cooking and EATING!