Asparagus Lasagna

Most of the directions are in the "ingredients". I've given them in the order they were prepared. I've made this twice so far, and this was the most successful version. I do all of the ingredients in one pot, incidentally. This works out to be about a half-batch, but I make it in a deep bread 9x5" bread pan.

Ingredients

• 1/2 of a largish vidalia onion or 1 medium onion, sauteed with olive oil until translucent
  
• 3c asparagus, (I'm guessing - bunched up they were about 2-2.5 inches diameter) steamed about 5 minutes until just tender
  
• 1 small zucchini or 1/2 of a large, sliced thin and sauteed in olive oil until tender
  
• 4 whole wheat lasagna noodles (yeah, only 4) cooked until al dente
  
• 14oz tomatoes, cooked with a spoonful of garlic and pesto (to taste). Cook down until reduced about 10-20% and a little thicker.
  
• 8oz ricotta cheese
  
• .25lb mozzarella (total ballpark), cut into thin slices
  
• salt and pepper to taste in just about every step of this
  
• Optional basil leaves
  

Preheat the oven to 350. Stir together the onions and the ricotta until well mixed. Put a layer of sauce at the bottom of the 9x5" bread pan. Thin layer. Add a layer of noodles (because of the size of the noodles, it does not take 2 full noodles to cover, so cut accordingly). Add a layer of ricotta/onions (about half the mixture). Add the asparagus, then another layer of sauce. Add another layer of noodles on top, then layer the zucchini across that. Top with the remaining ricotta, and any sauce that you might have left (once I didn't have any left, once I did - doesn't make much difference). If you are using basil leaves, place them evenly across the top at this point, and then cover the whole thing with slices of mozzarella. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.

Thoughts: This is a delicious lasagna. It's also like my 3rd time ever making lasagna. I have to say, one of the most important things about this recipe is that you cook down the tomato sauce a bit. Otherwise it will be too liquidy and not as good to eat. Otherwise, this is super good. You could PROBABLY expand the recipe for use in a normal 9x11 sized pan (or however big) but the number of layers really necessitates steep sides, and if you make it in a bread pan then it's just enough for up to 3 people, or for 1 person with a few days' leftovers.

Disaster Index: 1/10