Lasagna help!!

[Jessica]

I need to make a lasagna Tuesday night for a Wednesday supper. I am looking for one that is:
* Delicious
* Vegetarian
* Uses the no-boil noodles
* Would appeal to a group of people with a wide range of tastes
* Does not take forever to prepare
*Can be refrigerated overnight and cooked the next day

It's a tall order. Can anyone help? I have all CLs since Jan-Feb 1998 and the CL 5-star cookbook.
Thanks much.

[donleyk]

Jessica,

I too wanted a vegetarian lasagna that I could make ahead. For the most part I just threw in what I wanted. The bottom layer was roasted eggplant the second layer was mushrooms, peppers and onions and the third was ricotta cheese. I use my homemade sauce and sprinkle mozz. on at the end. It worked out just fine. I have decided that I don't care for the presentation that ricotta makes, tho'. I thought it looked rather nasty. I don't care for cottage cheese but I would consider subbing it for the ricotta. Good luck!

[SusieO]

Jessica:
I don't have a specific recipe to offer, just some suggestions. First, just about any lasagna can be made ahead of time and refrigerated overnight. Also, I always use regular lasagna noodles without boiling them first. It works fine as long as you have lots of sauce, and assemble it the night before.

My favorite lasagna is the Lazy Lasagna from a 1997 CL issue (September, maybe?) It has a meat sauce, but I substitute mushrooms. Lasagna is pretty forgiving; you can pretty much improvise and add whatever you would like.

[gertdog]

Jessica,

I use the Barilla no-boil noodles and a jar or so of tomato-basil pasta sauce to which I add some chopped fresh basil to brighten the flavor.

For filling, I usually take a 15-oz. carton of ricotta (or mix ricotta and cottage cheese) and add some frozen spinach that's been drained and thawed, along with salt and pepper.

If I have time/inclination/ingredients, I saute some onion, mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, etc. and use that as a vegetable layer.

I layer the lasagna as follows:
A little sauce in the bottom of the pan
Layer of noodles
1/2 the ricotta mixture
1/2 the sauteed veggies, if using
A generous handful of shredded mozzerella (or mix of mozzerella, fontina, provolone... whatever I have)
Enough sauce to cover generously
More noodles
Remaining ricotta
Remaining veggies
More cheese
Sauce
Noodles
Sauce to completely cover noodles (otherwise they may not soften up in the oven).

This can definitely be assembled the day before and refrigerated overnight.
You can make it pretty as it finishes baking by sprinkling on some grated parmesan and chopped fresh parsley or basil.