Chunky Vegetable Lasagna

Total Time: 1 hr 40 mins Preparation Time: 40 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 6 cups giardiniera, sauce veggie marinara sauce (for pasta)
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 2/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 3 1/3 cups mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup cream or 1 cup half-and-half
• 1 pinch pepper
• 1 pinch thyme
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 1 pinch basil
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup flour, plus
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, plus
• 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons romano cheese
• 12 cooked noodles
• 1/4 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon very finely chopped parsley

Recipe

• 1 mix together mozzarella and feta cheeses and set aside.
• 2 to make bechamel sauce:heat milk, cream, and spices together in microwave safe bowl and heat until near boil.
• 3 melt butter in large saucepan.
• 4 add flour and cook for 2 minutes on medium-low heat.
• 5 gradually stir in hot milk and cream mixture.
• 6 raise heat to medium-high and continue stirring until mixture is smooth and thick, about 5 minutes.
• 7 add parmesan and romano cheeses and whisk until smooth.
• 8 to make topping: mix together bread crumbs, parmesan, and parsley.
• 9 to assemble and bake:.
• 10 preheat oven to 400°f.
• 11 spread 3 tablespoons of the giardiniera sauce in bottom of 9x13 pan.
• 12 put in one layer of lasagna noodles.
• 13 spoon on 3 cups of sauce.
• 14 spread a scant cup of the bechamel across the sauce in two diagonals (no need to spread evenly at this point).
• 15 top with 2 cups of cheese mixture.
• 16 lay on another layer of lasagna noodles and repeat, using same amounts of sauce, bechamel, and cheese.
• 17 top with last layer of noodles, and with fingertips, press lightly to distribute bechamel smoothly in the layers (use every bit of sauce in pan).
• 18 using long narrow metal spatula, "frost" top layer of noodles with remaining bechamel.
• 19 be sure to completely cover noodles so that they do not dry out in baking.
• 20 sprinkle evenly with bread crumb mixture.
• 21 bake lasagna at 400°f for about 60 minutes or until sauce bubble around the edges and top is nicely browned.
• 22 if top browns too quickly, cover with foil.
• 23 if baking lasagna straight from the freezer, add about 20 minutes to cooking time.
• 24 once out of oven, let lasagna set up for about 20 minutes before cutting.
• 25 serves 8-10.