Ricardo & Friends Makes Vegetarian No-Pasta Lasagna

Today I was watching Ricardo & Friends on Food Network Canada. He was making a whole vegetarian meal for his visiting friends. Along with being a meat eater, I love to also eat the vegetarian options, so this episode sounded pretty fun when it first started.
When he said he was going to be cooking a vegetable no-pasta lasagna, I thought that all it would be would be a bunch of vegetables and cheese...and although that sounds good, it just didn't seem nutritious enough. But once he started making it, I was very surpised with all of the good nutritious ingredients he put in. I was able to get the recipe off www.foodtv.ca (which is a great website)! I have not yet attempted to make it yet, but I thought I would share it right away!

Vegetarian No-Pasta Lasagna Yield: 6

Ingredients:
Vegetarian No-Pasta Lasagna
10 x Italian tomatoes, halved and seeded
2 x cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
1/2 cup firm tofu, drained and crumbled
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 x heads romaine lettuce
1-1/2 cups artichoke hearts packe din oil, drained and chopped
1/2 pounds asparagus, trimmed and blanched
3 cups grated mozzarella
salt and pepper

Directions:
With the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 120°C (250°F). Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, garlic, oregano and half of the oil. Season with salt and pepper. Place the tomatoes in the pan, cut side down. Bake about 2 hours. Allow to cool. Pull off the skin by hand.
In a skillet over medium heat, soften the shallots in the remaining oil. Add the tofu and continue cooking until golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Add oil as needed. Allow to cool partially, then add half of the ricotta. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a bowl, combine the artichokes and remaining ricotta. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a pot of boiling salted water, blanch the lettuce leaves for 1 to 2 minutes. Immerse in a bowl of ice water. Drain and lay the leaves side by side on a clean tea towel. Set aside.
With the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
Spread half of the tomatoes on the bottom of a 25 x 18-cm (10 x 7-inch) Pyrex baking dish. Cover with a layer of lettuce leaves. Cover with the tofu and ricotta mixture. Cover with another layer of lettuce leaves. Lay the asparagus on top and add 250 ml (1 cup) mozzarella. Cover with yet another layer of lettuce leaves and add the artichoke mixture. End with a layer of lettuce leaves and sprinkle with the remaining tomatoes and mozzarella.
Bake until the lasagna is heated through and the cheese on top is golden, about 45 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

To take a look at this recipe on the Food Tv website, go to: http://www.foodtv.ca/recipes/recipedetails.aspx?dishid=8217
While you're there, take the time to explore the site, it has some helpful hints and tips along with really great websites...just make sure you watch your time, because it makes time fly by!

I was also thinking that if you didn't like tofu, chicken or turkey as a subsitution might make the lasagna taste just as good.

Enjoy!