Ingredients
lasagne sheets, fresh or instant
200g mozzarella cheese, or parmesan
Spicy tomato sauce – an arrabbiata with extras
3 tbsp olive oil
1 medium size onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 fresh chilli, medium, finely diced
1 C pitted olives
2 tbsp capers, drained
4 C ripe tomatoes, diced (or equivalent – 2 tins are great)
handful fresh basil (if available)
salt & pepper
Grilled vegetables
use what you have here, such as:
2 zucchini
1 eggplant
1 red capsicum
small wedge pumpkin
handful mushrooms
greens eg. kale, spinach, silverbeet
Lemon Ricotta
500g fresh ricotta
rind and juice of 1 lemon
small handful basil, sliced
salt and pepper
Summary
When a Fair Food customer wrote to share this recipe for the World’s Best Vegetable Lasagna, we admit we had doubts. That’s a big call, after all. But we can confirm it’s utterly delicious – the lemon ricotta is genius (sorry bechamel) and it is all-comfort with a rich and spicy tomato sauce. Here’s our adapted version.
Really Good Vegetable Lasagne
Make the sauce. This (along with cooking some veggies) can be made ahead of time, possibly even in a large quantity for several different meals). Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add onion, garlic, and chilli and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add olives, capers & fresh tomatoes, and cook a couple minutes more before adding the rest of the ingredients. If you’re out of fresh tomatoes, replace with a couple of tins or small bottles of crushed tomatoes. Cook for 10 minutes, lower the heat and let simmer for a half-hour or more with a lid on.
Grill or bake whichever veggies you have to use – zucchini, eggplant, capsicum, mushrooms, kale, pumpkin etc. Slice evenly and coat them with a little olive oil and salt, lightly roasting them under the grill or in a griddle pan or on a tray in the oven. As a guide, try 1-2 zucchini, 1 eggplant, 1 capsicum and a half bunch of silverbeet or spinach (this doesn’t need roasting) for a medium sized lasagne.
Mix ricotta ingredients together in a bowl.
Preheat the oven to 175°C. Cover the bottom of a baking dish with a thin layer of tomato sauce, then add a layer of lasagna, a layer of lemon-ricotta, then grilled vegetables, fresh greens, then cover with a layer of that delicious tomato sauce. Repeat 2-3 times. Top the last layer with the rest of the vegetables, the tomato sauce, the lemon-ricotta and the grated mozzarella cheese. Bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes, until crispy golden on top.
Recipe adapted with thanks from Green Kitchen Stories.
Hints and Tips
If you would like a gluten free option, use gluten free instant lasagna sheets.
Make your own ricotta using this recipe. It’s easy and wonderfully yum!
To keep the recipe low in lactose, use a hard & mature cheese like parmesan instead of mozzarella.
Thanks for vegetarian lasagne recipe, and agree, though haven’t tried it yet, the lemon ricotta instead of bechamel sauce could be a good alternative. BUT, the recipe for making lactose free ricotta is a must to make.
You’re not wrong about the messy bit! I haven’t made a lasagna in years, and this recipe caught my eye, but my kitchen looks like a bomb hit it! It’s in the oven now, with vegan ricotta, vegan mozzarella, and I’m thinking it’s either going to be really awful or really delicious!! Hope it’s the latter!
The verdict is in, we’ve just had this for dinner, and it’s delicious!!! Great recipe, and the vegan cheeses I used were just fine!
A bit of preparation, but worth the effort. The taste was delicious.
Thanks This inspired my lasagne last week did not make the sauce but mixed olives and capers in with roast veg and used chili oil to pep up my mother in laws passata – great combination – think I will mix through some milk or oil into ricotta to get smoother topping
Next time I have fresh tomatoes I will make the sauce
Thanks so much for making our recipe and adapting it in such a beautiful way! Mother in law’s passata – delish! You can make ricotta using a combination of both milk and cream which might yield a creamier result? Would love to hear how you go with the milk or oil option 🙂
This is by far the best lasagne recipe I’ve ever cooked! Delicious blend of flavours. The lemon ricotta is inspirational and the Arrabbiata is classic. Thanks for sharing and inspiring me to cook a lasagne from fresh, wholesome ingredients.
Oh thanks so much, Craig! We’re so glad you enjoyed making and eating it!
Thank you! I’ve had a lemon ricotta lasagne and thought it an inspiration. I was searching for a recipe and here I am; CERES Fair Food to the rescue! Brilliant!
Ha! Here’s to a successful internet search, and generous lemon zest! Thanks for your message Jan, happy cooking