Day three cooking up a storm: spinach and mushroom lasanga

After the success of last night's sweet potato and peanut soup, I decided to keep cooking. This morning I made a fabulous lasagne and the crock pot is gently simmering away on a cashew, coconut curry.

My aim, apart from eating very, very well this holiday, is to fill the freezer with delights for when I inevitably return to work and have to endure the usual rushed days.

Here's the lasagne recipe. I was happy to be able to use greens straight from the garden and sauce I bottled last year.  I'll share the curry tomorrow, after I've tasted it ;)

I found this very collectable Henry Watson lasagne dish in a op shop for a steal last week. 

It is the perfect size.

Ingredients
1 packet lasagne pasta (I am now a devotee of fresh, see note below)
1 bottle tomato pasta sauce
1 large tub ricotta
1 tub silken tofu (see note below)
fresh spinach, silverbeet, kale or mix of all
mushrooms
parmesan cheese
olive oil spray

Method
Lightly cook the greens until wilted. Saute the mushrooms separately.
Spray your lasagne dish with olive oil, then pour in a small amount of tomato sauce. Line the bottom with lasagne sheets.
In a separate bowl mix together the ricotta and tofu.
Spoon in some ricotta mix, and spread evenly over the pasta. Add spinach greens, again spread evenly.
More pasta, more sauce and more ricotta. Then add the cooked mushrooms. If you have any ricotta left add it here.
One last layer of pasta sheets and the last of the sauce.
Cover with alfoil and bake in a hot oven until all cooked and bubbly. Remove from oven and sprinkle grated parmesan on top.

Cut into approx. six servings and eat straight away or freeze individual serves.

Note: Fresh pasta
Today was the second time I have used fresh lasagne sheets (from chiller section of supermarket). I used a different brand both times: today's type has convinced me not to go back to dry, unless desperate, for a couple of reasons. Firstly you don't have to mess around trying to break corners off or splitting them, very messily, to make them fit your dish as the fresh ones flex. Secondly I was able to make better layers by pressing the previous one down gently. That doesn't work with the dry sheets.

Note: Mixing ricotta and tofu
I know I have said this before, and I'll no doubt say it again 'cos its true. If you don't tell, no one will ever know this has tofu in it, or object. You can increase the protein and eat a more varied diet this way. It also gives the ricotta mix a better texture in this or canneloni. Tofu comes in lots of different forms, look for silken tofu. It has the consistency of junket, if you remember what that was like, or the custard in a vanilla slice.