Caprese Lasagna

Why does this happen to me? I always get my mind set on a meal and when it comes down to it, I just don't have what it takes to make it?! We were having friends over and I was going to make a Roasted Vegetable Lasagna so I could get it made and cleaned up ahead of time. I soon realized my vegetable drawer was in a serious need of a restock! I also saw that I used up my last marinara sauce from last season and didn't have enough tomatoes to make a new one. Ugh!

I was at least a little prepared because I did have ricotta cheese in the fridge, phew! I had too much going on to make a change in my meal plan, I was set on lasagna.  I still had some pesto in the freezer and some cherry tomatoes and greens. Sounds like a Caprese Lasagna to me. I was so nervous that it was going to be too dry without a lot of vegetables so I made sure to not cook the greens and tomatoes all the way down so there was still some liquid to keep the lasagna moist.

It was plenty moist and perfectly scrumptious! The pesto is the real highlight of the dish, so make sure you are using a pesto that you really love.

Next time you have people over, make something that you've never made before. Almost always, I'm pleasantly surprised. Sorry, I have to be honest that, 'almost' is the key word here. Sometimes it doesn't work out so well but the times that it does makes me keep trying!

Caprese Lasagna

1/2 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 oz pesto
10 oz ricotta cheese
2 oz shredded parmesan cheese
1 t salt
3/4 t pepper

7 oz fresh spinach
4 oz arugula
1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 t balsamic vinegar

9 oven ready lasagna noodles
3 oz fresh mozzarella cheese

balsamic glaze for serving

Sauté your onions and garlic in a little olive oil until they because nicely browned. In a bowl, add onions with pesto, ricotta, shredded parmesan, salt and pepper. Set aside.

In the same pan your onions were cooked in, begin to wilt your spinach and arugula. Also tossing with them, the cherry tomatoes. When greens are wilted, turn off the heat. Mix in 1 t of balsamic vinegar.

Next, begin to assemble your lasagna in a sprayed pan:
1/2 c ricotta filling
3 lasagna noodles
1/2 of the spinach and tomato mixture
3 noodles
1/2 c ricotta filling
remaining spinach and tomato mixture
3 noodles
remaining ricotta filling
sprinkle top with fresh mozzarella

I like to put one tomato in the middle of where I will slice each lasagna piece for added docoration.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 400° for 25 minutes. Take off foil and bake for another 10 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Once plated, drizzle a little balsamic glaze over each piece before serving.