Spinach, Artichoke & Roasted Red Pepper Lasagna

This lasagna is a great way to feed a family and satisfy everyone (meat eaters included).  However, I know some of you are thinking veggie lasagna is boring, lacks a rich flavour or that all the veggies fall out once it is cut and served. To avoid all the prior I have combine chopped spinach and marinated artichokes directly into the sauce, doing this imparts great flavour to the sauce and makes assembly much quicker as you are not spending time layering vegetables in addition to the noodles and cheese.  The other great thing about this recipe is that you can keep most ingredients on hand in the pantry, only having to shop for a couple items like ricotta and fresh herbs, which makes this easy to whip up on short notice (perhaps family or friends dropping in for a weeknight dinner)!

Serves a crowd

25 mins prep time

65 minutes bake time

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 large onion chopped (or 1 small)
2 cloves garlic, squished
1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess water
1 large jar marinated artichokes, chopped
fresh basil, chopped (as much as you like)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 jars of your favourite tomato sauce (divided) 1 1/2 jars and 1/2 jar
1/2 cup water
1 jar roasted red peppers, thinly sliced

1 cup shredded skim mozzarella cheese
1 container light ricotta cheese
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese + extra for topping
1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
1 egg
salt & pepper
1 box (375 g) ready cooked lasagna noodles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9x13" baking dish.
In a large saute pan over medium heat saute, onion, garlic, spinach, artichokes, basil, oregano and red pepper flakes in the olive oil. Add in 1 1/2 jars pasta sauce and water and simmer 10 minutes.
In a large bowl mix mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt, pepper and egg. Set aside.

Place a 1/2 of reserved plain sauce (1/4 jar) in the bottom of a baking dish. Place layer of uncooked noodles on top of sauce and top with thin layer of spinach sauce. Add layer of noodles and layer with 1/2 spinach sauce followed by 1/2 cheese mixture then layer on all sliced roasted red peppers, add another layer of noodles and repeat with remaining spinach sauce and cheese. Last layer with noodles and top with rest of reserved plain sauce.

Cover with foil and bake in a preheated oven for 55 minutes.  After 55 minutes, remove foil sprinkle with extra Parmesan and bake another 10 minutes. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.