Mediterranean-style Vegetarian Lasagna

Credit: Catherine Roscoe Barr

Preparing the lasagna ahead of time and letting it sit before cooking will allow the ingredients to meld and the flavours to intensify. If you don’t have time for that, you can look forward to flavour-heightened leftovers the next day

Put a new spin on lasagna with hummus, zucchini, roasted red peppers and sundried tomatoes (and no meat)

I am trying to eat less meat, and I have to admit I find it difficult. One thing I’ve found pretty easy is just to cut back on portion sizes across the board, rather than having meat-free meals. Less meat, more vegetables, and meat-free substitutions where I can.

In fact, the other night I secretly substituted half of the ground beef in my meatloaf recipe with coarsely blended kidney beans. I watched my meatosaurus husband take his first bite, fearful he wouldn’t like it. He put down his fork, turned to me and said, “this is so good!” Whew.

I didn’t pull the wool over his eyes on this one – “I like it when you put meat in lasagna,” he said after cleaning his plate – but he enjoyed it. He even enjoyed it despite the fact that I left it in the oven too long and burnt the cheese on top.

I thought it was amazing, and even more so the next day for lunch.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 1/2 box lasagna noodles
• 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, sliced or grated
• 1 jar pasta sauce
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 roasted red peppers, chopped
• 6 sundried tomatoes, chopped
• hummus
  • 1 can chickpeas, with half the liquid reserved
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp cumin

Instructions

1. To make hummus, combine all ingredients in a bowl and use hand blender to blend until smooth.
2. In large bowl, combine pasta sauce, zucchini, onion, garlic, roasted red pepper, and sundried tomato.
3. Preheat oven to 375F.
4. In casserole dish, layer half the vegetable mixture, half the pasta, hummus, the remaining pasta, the remaining vegetable mixture, and cheese.
5. Cook for about 60 minutes or until cheese begins to bubble.