Recipes in this arena abound but you won’t find one that substitutes parsnip purée for half the ricotta!
This ups the fiber while lending the cheese sauce a nutty heartiness.
The parsnips will need to be cooked and mashed; adding fennel and caraway seeds to the boiling water ensures elimination of that the funky root veg aroma. Cut parsnips into similar size chunks and watch the water: they can be fully cooked in as little as 4 minutes. No salt needed.
With all the prep required for this dish, I use precooked lasagna noodles. Needless to say, the ones you’ve got to cook are fine (and cheaper!). Just make sure not to overcook them if you go that route. In another shortcut, I use Classico’s Traditional Sweet Basil sauce (Mushroom & Ripe Olives is also fine). Of all the pre-made pasta sauces, only Classico lists sugar as the fifth ingredient; checking the labels of other sauces, you will find sugar first in many of them.
Ingredients:
1 medium onion, finely chopped
½ lb zucchini, thinly sliced
½ lb red bell pepper, thinly cubed or sliced
½ cup grated carrot
1 cup sliced or cubed mushrooms
1 quart marinara sauce
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
olive oil
cooking spray
½ lb parsnips, peeled, boiled, mashed
1 Tbsp fennel seed
½ Tbsp caraway seed
1 cup reduced-fat ricotta
2 cups reduced-fat shredded mozzarella*
½ cup grated Parmesan
1 egg
½ cup chopped parsley
½ tsp Italian seasoning
*Only buy shredded mozzarella that has come from the block; Sargento makes a good one. Otherwise, you will find small, salty dried bits of something that barely resembles cheese. If you cannot find mozzarella shredded from a block, you will have to buy a block and grate it yourself (sorry…this is important).
Begin by peeling and boiling the parsnips; you can add the caraway and fennel seeds as soon as you put the parsnips in the pot, which will require careful watch so veg is not overdone. Mash with potato masher and set aside.
In a very large high-sided skillet, brown onion until translucent, add peppers and zucchini; when all of these have softened, add mushrooms, then red sauces and simmer for at least 20 minutes. If you have a bottle of red wine open, add ½ cup as the sauce is simmering.
Place the ricotta and mozzarella into a large bowl; add the parsnip purée and parsley; crack in the egg and mix well. Add ¼ to ½ cup water to loosen the mixture.
Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with any kind of oil.
Pour enough red sauce to cover the bottom…add first layer of noodles…spread white sauce, sprinkle Parmesan, and repeat three times. The top layer should be red sauce sprinkled with the remainder of the Parm.
Cover with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes; remove foil and bake for 15 minutes more. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into this heavenly, healthy lasagna!
Tip: for a spicier but still meatless version, finely dice ½ cup of sundried tomatoes and add—with their oil—to the sauce.
