Creamy Courgette Lasagna

I know it's really unusual to see pasta on my page, let alone two days in a row. Last night was a beans on toast night (you know . . . one of the side effects of moving and not really having much left in the way of fresh food in the house) and so I am showing you something that I made a week or so ago.



I love lasagna, and Todd does too, if he would only humble himself and admit it!! He seems to scarf it up at any rate!



I often like to make a Vegetarian Version, like this tasty courgette one. Courgettes are something that I seem to always have in the refrigerator and they work really well in dishes like this.



In the summer I like to grown them in the garden. They grow like weeds and are so very versatile!



I copied the recipe from one that I found on the Good Food site, but I did make some changes. I used a jar of spicier Puttanesca sauce that I just happened to have in the larder, and I added some fried mushrooms . . .



Coz I am like that. I just can't leave well enough alone.

This was really delicious!



*Creamy Courgette Lasagna*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

This is easy and quite delicious! It is filling enough to serve as a main course along with a salad. You will never miss the meat.

9 dried lasagna sheets
1 TBS olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
700g (about 6) medium courgettes, washed trimmed and coarsely grated
1 punnet of mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced
2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
250g tub of ricotta cheese
50g strong cheddar cheese, grated
salt and black pepper to taste
350g jar of tomato sauce for pasta
(I like to use Puttanesca style for the spice and flavour)

Heat the oven to 220*C/425*F. Put a pan of lightly salted water on to boil. Add the lasagna sheets and cook for about 5 minutes, only until softened, but not cooked through. Drain adn rinse in cold water. Drizzle with a little olive oil to keep from sticking together.

Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, add the olive oil and heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring for about 3 minutes, until beginning to soften. Add the mushrooms and cook until they begin to brown. Add the courgettes along with the garlic and continue to cook, stirring, until the courgettes have turned a bright green and softened. Stir in 2/3 of both the ricotta and the cheddar cheese. Season to taste with some salt and black pepper. Heat the tomato sauce in a small pot, until hot.

In a large lasagna dish, layer up the lasagna, starting with half of the courgette mixture, then pasta, then tomato sauce. Repeat, top with blobs of the remaining ricotta cheese and the cheddar. Bake on the top shelf of the oven for about 10 minutes, until the pasta is completely tender and the cheese is golden.

Remove from the oven and let sit for about 10 minutes before cutting into slabs to serve.