recipe

Drooly Veggie Lasagna

tools:

- oven, preheat on 175 degrees, rack in the middle

- big roasting pan

ingredients:

VEGETABLES (you can vary these depending on what you have available or for some flavor fun, like swap the eggplant for slices of squash)

- 1 large eggplant, sliced thin

- 2 medium zuchinis(courgette), sliced thin

- 2 onions

- rucola or spinach, ripped up

- 1 clove of garlic, crushed

DAIRY

- 1 small container of creme fraiche

- 1 container of cottage cheese

- 2 mozzarella balls

- shredded mozarella

SAUCE (too little sauce makes the lasagna dry)

- 1 large can of crushed tomatoes

- some tomato paste mixed with water or tomato juice

- some chili pepper (very little)

- salt and pepper

- fresh or dry basil

- add thyme and any other spices if you want to

- olive oil

MAKING:

1. ROAST VEGGIES: The secret to having your lasagna cook all the way through is to cook the veggies first. Once you have sliced them all up, put them in a big baking pan, toss them with salt, pepper, olive oil and other spices and put them in the oven to roast. You can include a bit of chili if you want the lasagna a bit spicy. The vegetables should get soft, but not start to fry or dry up.
2. MAKE MARINARA SAUCE: Mix crushed tomatoes and some tomato juice or paste and a bit of water with 1/2 of the garlic and some spices; basil, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Cook into a nice sauce and set aside. You need quite a lot of sauce for juicy lasagna.
3. MAKING THE LAYERS: First, in a big baking pan, lay out dry lasagna noodles, then put a small layer of vegetables, then marinara sauce, then slices of soft mozzarella, grated mozzarella, creme fraiche and cottage cheese. Choose the amounts depending on your baking pan size and leaving space to make this layering 3 more times. On the top put one last layer of noodles, some sauce, creme fraiche, cottage cheese and lots of grated cheese and drizzle some olive oil on top.
4. BAKING: Cover the pan with tin foil, try not to let it touch the top cheese too much. Cook on 175 degrees, with over and under heat, until things start to sizzle and drip in the pan (probably 20 min), then you can remove the foil and let it continue 5 or 10 more minutes until the top is beautifully golden and crispy.
5. ENJOY: Let your lasagna sit, covered, for about 10 minutes outside of the oven before serving. Don't burn yourself trying to eat it too soon even though you might not be able to control your drooling while you wait.

That's it!