This is an original recipe and remains a great alternative to the more traditional meat lasagna, especially given the recent discovery of "pink slime" and how said slime relates to 70% of the ground beef one may be exposed to at your local INSERT SUPERMARKET HERE. Pink slime? Yes, pink slime, click the link and grab a vomit bag. Somewhere, Jamie Oliver's head just exploded. Just sayin', and I think he would agree, less slime is more.
Ingredients
-Tinkyada Gluten-Free Lasagna Noodles (9-12 noodles)
-1 package of frozen chopped spinach
-1 container of 15 ounce part-skim ricotta cheese
-1, 8 ounce package of fresh mozzarella cheese
-1, 24 ounce jar of your favorite gluten-free spaghetti sauce
-3/4 cup of shredded Parmigianino Reggiano cheese
-10 ounces or one small container of marinated artichoke hearts (we find them at our supermarket olive bar; be sure to check with your market that the marinade is indeed gluten-free)
*Feel free to add any other veggies to this yummy compilation. Sometimes we add sliced tomatoes or Mom has made the suggestion that zucchini would be delicious as well.
Method
*The Day Before Creation: Defrost the spinach in the refridgerator overnight, as it's much easier to drain once it's been thawed.
Day of:
-Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
-Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a pinch of salt and a 1/2 tsp of olive oil and then once boiling, add 9-12 lasagna noodles, which can vary and may depend entirely upon the size of the lasagna pan that you'll be using. Boil the noodles for about 10 minutes or until al dente. I know how tempting it can be to kick your heels up, take a moment and toss a noodle straight for the ceiling so as to assess the state of all things al dente, but I assure you that if you do so around The Matriarch of this Outfit, she will most certainly utter some sassy derivative of "stop ****ing around" and therein put a stop to all scientific assessments.
-Whilst the noodles begin to boil, lay a paper towel down and separate all of the artichokes, leaf by leaf and be sure to dab any excess marinade with another paper towel as you go. Mom says that I "do a lot of dabbing" whilst cooking." I can't say that I disagree with her.
-Now it's time to drain the spinach. We literally take fistfuls of Popeye's favorite vegetable and throttle the ever living life out of it so as to drain as much water from it as possible. Seriously, pulverize the spinach and threaten it through clenched teeth "can ya feel that, Buddy, huh?!" And yes, if you clicked that link (hint: clink that link), that is the actual gesticulation that I do whilst throttling the spinach. One must thoroughly drain the vegetables, as ingredients may be too watery or moist (I despise that word; it's right up there with the word panties, but that's a digression for another time or perhaps another blog), which will make for a soupy lasagna; such is the all the dabbing and throttling of both vegetables.
-Next, thinly slice the mozzarella cheese and set it to the side for now. I mean, we're not the boss of you, it's really just a suggestion so as to make space for assembly.
Assembly
-First, we use a paper towel to brush the tiniest amount of olive oil along the entire inside of the pan.
-Next, we layer three noodles along the bottom of our pan and then cover those noodles somewhat liberally with sauce; again, for now, less is more, as you don' t want your creation to become Soupy Sales (R.I.P).
-And now you can begin to cover the bottom layer evenly with first, the spinach and then, the artichokes. Next, give that layer an evenly distributed, yet demure shot of parmigianino reggiano cheese.
-For the second layer, begin with your pasta noodles and then spread the ricotta cheese evenly so as to cover all exposed pasta. That's right, I said exposed. Deal with it. Next, layer all of the mozzarella cheese evenly throughout and upon your ricotta layer and finally, give the entire layer another demure shot of parmigianino reggiano.
-Finally, cover the top of your lasagna with your remaining noodles and then cover those noodles generously with first, sauce and then, the rest of the parmigianino reggiano cheese.
-And now, pop your creation into the oven for about 45 minutes at 375 degrees or as Mom always says let it bake "Until It Bubbles." Once it's out of the oven let it settle or as Mom might say "ferment" before serving. Recipe makes about 9 medium slices of lasagna.
Our work here is done. Enjoy.
