Lasagna With Caramelized Onions, Roasted Peppers & Squash

Total Time: 3 hrs Preparation Time: 2 hrs Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 2 cups whole wheat flour (or other grain)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup tbsps olive oil
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 5 medium onions, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch thick rings
• 2 cups cubed winter squash
• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1 large bunch kale, stemmed and torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 small fennel bulb, diced (or onion)
• 1 (24 ounce) can stewed whole tomatoes, undrained
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fennel seed, briefly crushed
• 3 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1 cup grated romano cheese or 1 cup parmesan cheese

Recipe

• 1 make the pasta:.
• 2 combine flour, salt, and basil in food processor and pulse once or twice to mix. add eggs all at once and process 30 seconds or so till dough pulls away from the sides and forms a ball. add more flour if dough is too sticky, or more water (by the drop) if dough is grainy. wrap in plastic and set aside on the counter to rest for at least 30 minutes.
• 3 make the veggie layer:.
• 4 preheat oven to 400°f drizzle a large baking sheet with 1 t. olive oil.
• 5 spread squash and bell pepper on the sheet and drizzle with remaining 1 t. olive oil. sprinkle with salt and pepper (or paprika) to taste, toss gently and roast in preheated 400°f oven for 20 minutes or so (till very fragrant and not burned -- the longer you roast them, the better, but don't let them burn!) when done, transfer to a bowl; set aside.
• 6 meanwhile, in a large (12" or bigger) heavy skillet with a lid, heat 1/4 celsius olive oil over low heat. add onion rings (pile them in--they will reduce in size). drizzle with a little more olive oil if needed and cook, stirring infrequently, till translucent and golden, 30 minutes or so. when onions are done, transfer to the bowl with roasted veggies with slotted spoon, allowing any excess oil to drip into the pan.
• 7 wipe oil out of pan with a paper towel and place 1 celsius water in pan. heat water till steaming (still over relatively low heat), then add the kale (work in batches if needed). steam 5-7 minutes, till bright green and tender. add to bowl with onions and roasted veggies and toss.
• 8 make the marinara:.
• 9 heat olive oil in 2 quart saucepan over medium heat. till shimmery. add fennel (or onion) and cook 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, till softened. add tomatoes and their juice, vinegar and fennel seed (if you don't like a strong fennel flavor and used fennel for sautéing, skip the seeds). simmer 10-15 minutes, till heated through. puree with an immersion blender (or start with pureed tomatoes). set aside.
• 10 cook the pasta:.
• 11 bring a large pot of salted water to a vigorous boil. breaking the pasta dough into 3 equal portions, roll out on a floured surface (adding as much flour as needed to prevent sticking) till dough is roughly 1/4" thick. cut into long wide noodles (3" by 13" or whatever will fit your lasagna pan). when all noodles are rolled out, drop noodles into boiling water and cook no more than a minute. drain thoroughly and lay noodles flat on a kitchen towel (use tongs to handle hot noodles) so they don't stick together. (if using dried noodles, cook according to package directions).
• 12 assemble lasagna!
• 13 preheat oven to 375°f spray a 9" by 13" glass baking dish with olive oil.
• 14 spread a thin layer of marinara over the bottom and top with a layer of noodles, covering the bottom completely. top with 1/2 the veggie mixture, 1/3 the ricotta (crumble it over the lasagna with your fingers--don't try to spread it!), 1/3 the romano, and another layer of sauce. begin a new layer of noodles and top with remaining veggie mixture, 1/3 the ricotta, 1/3 the romano, and another layer of sauce. top with remaining noodles, remaining sauce, remaining ricotta and romano. place assembled lasagna in 375 deg. oven. bake for 30 minutes, till sauce is bubbly and cheese on top is melted. let rest at least 15 minutes before serving.