Snowy's Veggie Lasagna (warning: measurements in this recipe are fast and loose, like the writer):
1 box no-boil lasagna noodles
ricotta cheese
1 box frozen cooked spinach
1 egg
1 recipe tomato sauce
1 recipe bechamel sauce
Mozzarella cheese
Tomato sauce:
The easy way:
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 cup frozen mirepoix mix (onion, carrot, celery)
1 cup sliced cremini mushrooms
1/4 cup red wine
1 can spaghetti sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
Heat enamel cast iron Dutch oven over low heat, gradually increasing heat to medium. Add extra virgin olive oil; saute frozen mirepoix mix until soft and defrosted. Add sliced mushrooms. Cook until all the moisture in mix is gone and mirepoix and mushrooms are starting to stick to the bottom of the Dutch oven. Deglaze with red wine. Cook until wine is almost gone; add tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Simmer until reduced by an inch or so.
In lieu of jarred or canned spaghetti sauce, you can use a couple of cans of stewed tomatoes and reduce the sauce more, or you can use diced tomatoes and a can of tomato paste--the resulting sauce will be thicker. You can also dice up your own mirepoix. Sometimes I'm just lazy.
Bechamel:
This is probably where it's hardest for me to write down precise measurements, so here's a link to a recipe by Mario Batali:
Bechamel Sauce Recipe : Mario Batali : Food Network Tip: heat the milk for the bechamel in a large glass measuring cup in your microwave and save yourself a pan.
Ricotta-Spinach filling:
Whiz together in food processor 1.5 cups or so of ricotta cheese with the entire package of spinach and 1 egg. Season with salt and pepper.
To assemble:
Put a good amount of bechamel on the bottom of a rectangular glass Pyrex. Place three no-boil noodles over bechamel. On top of these noodles, spread a layer of the spinach-ricotta filling. On top of filling, spread a layer of tomato sauce. If you like creamy tomato sauce, spread more bechamel on top of the tomato sauce layer, otherwise, skip this. Put down another layer of noodles, and repeat layers of filling and tomato sauce twice more. On top of the final layer of noodles, place the remainder of the bechamel. Top with mozzarella cheese, and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. If you don't like yours super-browned, wrap the top in foil before baking and take the foil off after half an hour.