Presto Pasta Nights #165 Hosting and an Awesome Veggie, GF Lasagna

I am currently hosting the 165th edition of Presto Pasta Nights, a weekly celebration of the world of noodles, macaroni, spaghetti and all the great variations on pasta which is the brainchild of Ruth of Once Upon a Feast. Every Friday Ruth or a guest host rounds up a carbo-loaded array of pasta dishes from bloggers all around the world and I am delighted to announce that I am this week's guest host. You can send me the details of your pastarific blog posts by Thursday, May 27, midnight (Eastern Standard Time) and I will post the roundup the following day.



If you have never participated in Presto Pasta Nights before, please check out the details here. Basically, you just need to cook up a pasta dish, blog about it, and then email me at: info AT oldSaratogabooks dotcom with a cc to Ruth:
Ruthat 4everykitchendot cOM. Your blog post should include a link to the Crispy Cook and to the Presto Pasta Nights blog so others can find out more about the event. Include the URL of your blog post and a photo of your dish for the roundup.

My youngest daughter had a hankering for traditional lasagna with meat sauce so I made up a batch of that, but since my husband must dine gluten-free and eschews meat, I experimented with a second pan of vegetarian GF lasagna for his dining pleasure. I bought a box of DeBoles' oven-ready rice lasagna noodles which worked great because I didn't have to boil them first and risk having them disintegrate in the pasta pot if my attention wandered away. I had some fresh portabella mushrooms in the fridge, some canned artichoke hearts in the cupboard and some chopped spinach in the freezer, so they all coalesced into this very tasty vegetable lasagna.




Portabella, Artichoke and Spinach Lasagna

2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 tsp. dried rosemary, crumbled
4 portabella mushrooms, patted clean and sliced into 1/4 inch strips

1 (10 oz.) pkg. rice lasagna noodles

1 (14 oz.) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
4 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen chopped spinach, cooked, drained and squeezed dry
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pint ricotta cheese
2 eggs

1-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
1 cup grated Parmesan
5 cups marinara sauce

Heat oil in frying pan. Add garlic and cook, stirring, one minute. Add onions and cook until soft, about 4-5 minutes. Add portabellas and cook until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Add rosemary and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and reserve.

Mix artichoke hearts and parsley and reserve.

Mix ricotta, eggs, and spinach. Reserve.

To assemble lasagna, pour 2 cups marinara sauce in bottom of a 13x9 glass baking dish. Lay down enough lasagna noodles to cover and then add 1/2 of the portabellas. Cover with 1/3 of the spinach-ricotta mixture. Sprinkle with 1/3 portion each of the mozzarella and Parmesan. Ladle another cup of marinara sauce on. Add another layer of noodles, top with 1/2 of artichoke mixture.

Repeat layers and make sure to sprinkle final lasagna with some shredded mozzarella to melt.

Cover lasagna with foil and bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Remove foil and let cheese melt, another 10-15 minutes.

Serves 8-10.

This was supremely good. Dan even said it was the best lasagna he ever ate, so I made sure to get all my scribbled notes on the lasagna box transcribed immediately.

Don't forget to send me your delicious pasta dishes for Presto Pasta Nights by this Thursday! I've already received some tempting entries, so it should be a delicious roundup.