Being involved in a startup requires sacrifices and for me the lack of time I have to do anything but work means I am cooking a lot less. It’s tough because I enjoy it so much, but I’ve also learned to adjust my cooking style to fit my new lifestyle. Unfortunately I can’t make trips to the store everyday, or whip up a different complex meal every night. I need recipes with more portions so they last me 2-3 days, recipes that reheat or freeze well, and of course…still taste great.
One of my favorite recipes that I’ve dug out and look forward to preparing again this weekend is a Roasted Vegetable and Four Cheese Lasagna, which fits the “entrepreneurial criteria”. It’s layered with grilled eggplant, roasted tomatoes, butternut squash, fresh pesto and a combination of feta, ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. It turns out the best this time of year when I can wander around the farmers market and buy all my fresh produce (except for maybe the squash). If I have the extra time, I prepare a basil pesto from scratch, but if not (which will be the case this weekend) I look to some wonderful prepared pestos that have that “fresh from the garden” flavor. A couple basil pestos I enjoy are Bella Cucina’s Basil Pesto, Basiltops Pesto Perfectto and Loredana’s Casalinga Pesto.
Roasted Vegetable and Four Cheese Lasagna
Ingredients:
12 lasagna noodles
2 cups butternut squash, peeled and diced
1 eggplant, sliced in 1/2 inch slices
5 tomatoes, halved
1 (1 pint) container ricotta cheese
8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
2/3 cup basil pesto
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350º. Prepare lasagna noodles according to package directions; drain and set aside.
Place diced squash on a baking sheet and roast in preheated oven until browned and tender, about 30 minutes.
In a sauté pan over medium-high heat, sauté eggplant slices, turning once, until browned on each side and tender, approximately 10 to 12 minutes; set aside.
Meanwhile, place tomatoes skin side up on a separate baking sheet; place in oven with squash during last 15 minutes of cooking time. Cook tomatoes until tender and wrinkly. Remove both tomatoes and squash from oven when done; set aside and let cool.
In a medium mixing bowl, stir together ricotta, feta, pesto, eggs, salt and pepper until well combined; gently fold roasted squash into mixture.
To assemble lasagna, spoon half the tomato sauce into the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish; place 4 lasagna noodles over sauce. Arrange a single layer of eggplant slices over noodles and top with half ricotta mixture. Cover ricotta mixture with another layer of 4 lasagna noodles; arrange roasted tomatoes evenly over the noodles and spoon remaining ricotta mixture over tomatoes. Sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella and cover with remaining 4 lasagna noodles. Pour remaining tomato sauce evenly over noodles and sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella and 1 cup parmesan.
Bake uncovered lasagna in preheated 350º oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until cheese is golden and bubbly.