The Reason:
Lasagna has long been one of my favorite meals, and something I often picked for my “birthday dinner” when I was a kid. As an adult, I learned that lasagna tastes pretty much the same with or without meat (actually, I learned that was true about a lot of recipes, such as chili, but I digress). This led me down a long road of veggie lasagna recipes, which ultimately diverged quite a bit from a traditional lasagna. And a good thing too, or else I probably never would have tried this recipe. Needless to say, Spinach Artichoke Lasagna is quite a bit different than traditional lasagna.
The Journey:
This is pretty straightforward to make. We buy frozen spinach and artichokes, so you don’t really have that much chopping to do. The hardest part is chopping the rosemary, because it’s so tiny. But it’s only a tablespoon, so I’ll guess we’ll all survive it. You don’t even have to boil the noodles! How easy can it get?
In the past, I’ve stuck strictly to the script on this one. However, I’m sure you could add other things as well, such as carrots or mushrooms, or whatever else you like in your veggie lasagna.
The Verdict:
This is the best veggie lasagna I’ve ever had. On the other hand, Evie doesn’t like the rosemary for some reason. She might just have lit on that as an excuse, but it does have rosemary in it, so I can’t say she’s wrong. I suppose there could be a (non-)hypothetical person out there who doesn’t like rosemary.
The artichokes in particular are what makes this for me. They provide both a texture and a sort of sour twang that really just set it off. I haven’t seen a lot of veggie lasagnas with artichokes in it, so I guess that is the secret ace in the hole here.
I’m also a big fan of throwing a little feta on things.
The Recipe:
Adapted from AllRecipes.com.
- 1 package whole wheat lasagna noodles
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 3/4 cup vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 bag (1 pound) frozen artichoke hearts (or 1 can), drained and chopped
- 16 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
- 1 jar marinara sauce (22 – 26 oz)
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1/4 pound of feta, crumbled
- Italian spices (parsley, oregano) to taste
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with oil.
- Do not boil the noodles! Even if they’re not “no-boil”, there is enough moisture that they will soften while baking.
- Saute onion until translucent. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.
- Stir in broth and rosemary; bring to a boil.
- Stir in artichoke hearts and spinach; reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes.
- Stir in pasta sauce.
- Spread 1/4 of the artichoke mixture in the bottom of the prepared baking dish; top with 1 layer of noodles. Sprinkle 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese over noodles. Repeat layers 2 more times, ending with artichoke mixture and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle crumbled feta on top.
- Bake, covered, for 40 minutes. Uncover, and bake 15 minutes more, or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.
Shane Halbach 