Inside-Out Lasagna
By Mary McDougall
This is an easy lasagna-type meal with none of the fuss and all of the flavor! It can easily be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to bake.
Serves: 6
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 35 min
Ingredients
Directions
1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2 Place a large pot of water on to boil and cook pasta according to package directions, just until barely tender. Drain and set aside.
3 Meanwhile, dry saute the onions, garlic and mushrooms in a large skillet until softened and slightly browned, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes, beans, pasta sauce and spinach. Mix well and heat through, about 5 minutes. Add the cooked pasta and mix well. Stir in several dollops of Tofu Ricotta, if desired (see hints). Ladle into a large covered casserole dish. Bake covered for 30 minutes.
Hint: I use Tinkyada brand brown rice pasta in this recipe, either the penne or spirals, but I am sure other varieties would also work well. Try one of the many whole grain pastas available in most supermarkets if you can’t find brown rice pasta. The tofu ricotta is entirely optional, the casserole is delicious either way. I only use it if I happen to have some already made in my refrigerator. It may be stirred in before baking, or left in small dollops on the top of the casserole. To add a bit of heat to this dish, stir in 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes when adding the pasta sauce.
