Rice and Veggie Lasagna

This is a light and meatless lasagna that is made with rice instead of lasagna noodles. It is a perfect recipe to use up some of your veggies from the garden. I used mostly zucchini and carrot for the veggies part, but feel free to substitute.

Ingredients:

Sauce:

796 ml can crushed tomatoes
2 cups sliced white mushrooms

1/2 can water

2 tbsp olive oil

4-5 garlic cloves minced

3-4 basil leaves

3/4 tbsp salt

3/4 tbsp sugar

Veggies:

1 cup diced zucchini
1 1/2 cups grated carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped white onion

Other:

1 1/2 - 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
5 cups cooked arborio rice
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

For the sauce, cook garlic in olive oil until golden. Add mushrooms and cook for a few minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, water, basil, salt and sugar. Bring sauce to a boil and let cook on minimum heat for about an hour.

In the meantime heat olive oil in a pan, add zucchini, carrot, celery and onion. Cook together until onion is soft. Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes.

Place cooked rice in a bowl, add veggie mixture and a bit of the sauce. Stir until all ingredients are coated and set aside.

Place a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of baking dish. Add a layer of the rice and veggie mixture. Then add a layer of mozzarella cheese and a layer of Romano cheese. Add a layer of sauce and repeat until rice and veggies mixture is done. Finish top layer with sauce and more mozzarella and Romano.

Place in oven and cook at 375 for about 40 minutes or until cheese on top is golden. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. 

Makes 6-8 slices

Enjoy!