Lentil Lasagna

Over the past year I have met some wonderful women who are great cooks. I love using other peoples recipe, because it adds a new dimension to my cooking. I love trying new recipes (Kyle kind of hates this because he is the type of person who orders the same thing everywhere) and 90% of the time they turn out well and are thrown in the recipe roulette until I find another recipe. This recipe is from my friend Kate and it is really yummy! It's very hearty because of the red lentils. I realized later that I layered it completely different then the recipe calls, so I am going to include the original steps, but the nice thing to know about this recipe is it turns out great either way! Don't skip out on the sugar step and make sure to try the sauce after the lentils are done cooking. It needs a good amount of salt, as most bean dishes do. Please make sure to wash your lentils before cooking with them.

Red Lentil & Vegetable Lasagna

1 tsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 stalk celery, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 zucchini, diced (I didn't have any zucchini and used a green pepper instead-yummy)

1/2 cup red lentils

2 15-oz cans chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp dried oregano

2 cups low-fat ricotta (or sub with cottage cheese)

1/2 cup skim milk

whole wheat lasagna noodles (I wanted to make this gluten free, but my store was all out.)

3 handfuls basil

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup low-fat grated cheddar

Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, add the onion and garlic, and cook over low heat until softened. Stir in the celery, carrot, and zucchini and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the lentils, chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, and oregano. Add 3 cups of water, stir, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 40 minutes, or until the lentils are cooked. Stir frequently, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

While the lentils are cooking, preheat the oven to 350F. Combine the ricotta and milk in a bowl. Spoon half the lentil sauce into a 9 x 13 ovenproof dish. Top with lasagna noodles, then half of the ricotta/milk mixture. Cover with the basil leaves.

Top with more lasagna noodles, then spread the remaining lentil mixture over the top. Top with the remaining lasagna noodles. Beat the egg into the remaining half of the ricotta/milk mixture. Spread the surface with the ricotta mixture and cover with the cheese. Bake for 40 minutes. If the top starts to dry out, sprinkle with water. Top with additional basil ribbons.

The pictures may not be great because I used my phone.