Vegetable & Cheese Lasagna with Basil Pasta

Today I decided that I had no big plans and I wanted to make some fresh pasta. My herb planters have been growing like crazy and today I picked a colander full of basil leaves and decided to put them to good use in my pasta and sauce. This was a nice fresh lasagna and it was easy to assemble as the noodles were almost as wide as my pan!



Vegetable & Cheese Lasagna with Basil Pasta: Serves 6-9

1C White Flour
3/4C Semolina Flour
3 Eggs
4tsp Olive Oil
1tsp Salt
1TB Water
2 Bell Peppers - Finely Chopped
1 Onion - Finely Chopped
2C Part Skim Ricotta
1/2C Shredded Parmesan
1tsp Garlic - Minced
2 - 15oz Tomato Sauce Cans
1 - 15oz Canned Diced Tomato - drained
2TB Tomato Paste
1tsp Sugar
1C Chopped Basil
1TB Oregano
1oz Shredded Mozzarella
1oz Shredded Cheddar

Mix together the white flour and semolina with the salt in a stand mixer then add 2 of the eggs, 1TB of olive oil, water and 3/4C of the basil together and mix until a ball forms. Remove from the mixer and form into a pattie and wrap in saran wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30-40 minutes. Split into 4 chunks and run through your pasta machine rolling into sheets. I rolled mine down to a level 4 thickness. Cut into 8" long sheets and set to the side.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the noodles for 4-5 minutes until they are al dente. Drain and set to the side.

While the pasta is cooking place the diced tomato, tomato sauce, tomato paste, 2TB basil, oregano, sugar, and salt and pepper in a sauce pot and bring up to a simmer and continue to cook while the pasta cooks.

In a saute pan heat up the remaining teaspoon of olive oil with the garlic and add the bell pepper and onion with some salt and pepper and saute until tender. Remove to a bowl and add the ricotta and Parmesan cheese with 1 egg and the remaining 2TB of basil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix it all together and set to the side.

Now that all the parts are cooked we can assemble. Place a big scoop of sauce on the bottom of a 9x9 pan and spread it all around and up the sides of the pan, layer noodles on the bottom then add 1/3 of the cheese mixture across the noodles. Add another layer of noodles, spread a layer of sauce, another noodle, 1/3 of the cheese, noodle, sauce, noodle, remainder of the cheese mix, noodle and sauce. Place in a 375° oven for 30 minutes, remove and add the mozzarella and cheddar to the top and return to the oven for another 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, serve and enjoy!

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WW: 7 Points Plus / serving @ 9 servings
11 Points Plus / serving @ 6 servings