Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

I was very apprehensive about trying this recipe because of the copious amounts of cheese used. It has been months since I bought these whole wheat whole grain lasagna noodles and I finally decided to give it a try. I made several tweaks to this recipe, added an Indian twist and tried to make it as healthy as possible.

Ingredients:

1. Whole wheat/Whole grain Lasagna noodles--9 sheets
2. Tomatoes--4
3. Garlic pods-8 to10 pods
4. Basil powder- a pinch
5. Fennel seeds powder--a pinch
6. Marjoram powder--a pinch
7. Oregano powder--a pinch
8. Eggplant-(I used Indian brinjals)- 1 cup
9. Mushroom- 1 cup
10. Cheese mix -1 cup
11. Spinach--1 cup
12. Green chillies-4 big ones or to taste
13. Black pepper- 2-3 tsps or to taste
14. Olive oil--to coat veggies and saute garlic
15. Coriander leaves

Pasta Sauce:

Blanch 4 tomatoes and remove the skin. Puree two of them and chop the other 2 into tiny pieces. Heat about 2 tsp of olive oil and saute the finely chopped garlic first and then add the chopped tomatoes and green chillies. Add the puree and boil this on medium flame for about 15-20 minutes. Make sure the tomatoes are not raw. Add oregano, marjoram, and basil powder.(I added a tiny pinch of fennel seed powder for an Indian taste :)and skipped the basil powder) Bring to a boil. The sauce should neither be too thin nor too thick.

Veggies:

1. Spray a non stick pan with cooking spray and roast the eggplants which are previously coated in salt, pepper and olive oil in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, they should be tender and well browned.
2. Saute some more garlic and spinach till the spinach wilts.
3. Chop the mushrooms ( thick pieces, not too thin)

Cheese mix:

I made a mix of shredded mozzarella, cottage cheese and feta. I added some pepper, coriander leaves ( I skipped the parsely leaves) and mixed them together.

Putting it all together:

1. Start preparing the baking pan by coating it with cooking spray. Spread a little sauce on the pan. Layer 3 sheets next to each other, coat with sauce, a layer of eggplants, a layer of cheese mix, layer of next 3 sheets, coat with sauce, layer of spinach and mushrooms, layer of cheese mix, layer 3 more sheets. Pour remaining sauce on top and sprinkle remaining cheese.
2. Bake uncovered for 40-45 minutes at 400 F. Cool and serve.

My personal notes:

I made the recipe healthy by:

1. Using whole wheat and whole grain pasta instead of white or regular pasta
2. Making my own tomato sauce.
3. Reducing the amount of cheese (Some of the recipes I saw have about 3 cups of cheese--I used only 1 cup. I used veggies to bulk up the recipe instead of cheese.
4. Using part skim mozzarella, cottage and feta to cut down on fat and add more flavor.

It does not look like the professional restaurant type lasagnas, but tastes pretty good and is healthy too.