Last January, I picked up on a really sweet Travelocity round-trip deal from San Francisco to DC to attend the Obamaguration. To commemorate this very special occasion (and because all the restaurants were already booked), we decided to cook a pre-inauguration dinner for ten of our friends, half of whom were in the city visiting like myself. After intense deliberation (see: Liz freaking out) and careful consideration of eating habits, vegetarian lasagna seemed to be the safest bet for our main course. And now, with his first year at an end, this seemed like an appropriate post.
Ingredients, for 8 servings
9 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (14.5 oz) can vegetable broth
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 (14 oz) can marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry TIP: Let spinach thaw and drain completely, so lasagna isn’t overly watery.
1 (28 oz) jar tomato pasta sauce
3 cups shredded mozzarella sauce
1 (4 oz) package feta, crumbled
Steps
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray or grease a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray or olive oil.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add noodles and cook into al dente. Drain. Note: I used the pre-cooked lasagna noodles to save myself a step.
3. With medium-heat, add olive oil to saute onion and garlic for three minutes, or until onion is tender-crisp. Stir in broth and rosemary. Stir in artichoke hearts and spinach; reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in pasta sauce.
4. Here is where the layering begins. To get a few good layers in, spread a quarter of the mixture in the bottom of the greased baking dish; top with a layer of cooked noodles. Sprinkle a quarter of the mozzarella on top of noodles. Repeat, ending with a layer of artichoke mixture and mozzarella on top. Sprinkle crumbled feta on top.
5. Bake covered, for 40 minutes. Uncover, and then bake for 15 more minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.
lots and lots of melted cheese
