This is so easy I almost hesitate to share it. Nonetheless, I recently taught it to my pal Elizabeth who quickly incorporated it into her culinary repertoire to universal raves. If you don't already have a lasagna recipe to which you're attached, this is a good candidate I think. At least, everyone around here is crazy about it , even though it doesn't have meat in it....come to think about it, they may not know it's meatless, so for goodness sake don't tell 'em! I use whole-wheat lasagna noodles because I really like their almost nutty taste, but if your family is whole-wheat averse, regular lasagna noodles are just fine. Do not use those "no-boil" noodles however, which for some reason strike me as rather sinister because, though you don't pre-boil these noodles, they work perfectly anyway.
Spinach and Three Cheese Lasagna
1 box whole wheat lasagna noodles
2 lbs Ricotta cheese (either whole milk or part-skim)
10 oz. package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed or cooked in the microwave
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 32 ounce jar of good quality spagetti sauce (or homemade is obviously great!)
1 lb. shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/4 lb. shredded Reggiano Parmesan cheese
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine the Ricotta cheese, eggs, spinach and ground pepper. Mix well to combine and set aside.
Put about 1/4 cup of the spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a large lasagna pan, and place three lasagna noodles, parallel lengthwise on top of the sauce.
Layer on half of the Ricotta mixture followed by a layer of 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese and 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese.
Place three more noodles on top, and pour half of the spaghetti sauce on top, followed by a layer made of the remainder of the Ricotta mixture. Place another layer of 1/3 of the Mozzarella and 1/3 of the Parmesan.
Layer the final three noodles, the remainder of the spaghetti sauce, the last third of the mozzarella and the last third of the Parmesan.
Cover with aluminum foil and cook, covered for 1 1/4 hours. Remove the foil and let cook for an additional 15 minutes until the top is bubbly and brown.
Serve with Italian bread and green salad. If there's any left, place individual portions in plastic freezer bags. It freezes beautifully but, in my experience, you must freeze it quickly, because if not, it will all be gone before you turn around.