Spaghetti with Meatballs (vegetarian)

One of A's favorite cuisines is Italian. When we were newly married, I had to listen to him everyday in India of the promised sights and eats of Amreeka ;) And he kept mentioning Pasta. While I'd eaten pasta before, I wasn't a huge fan of the blandness or the cheesiness of Italian cuisine. Apart from pizza, of course, properly done with Amul Cheese back in Pizza Hut :D

The first time we went out, we went to Olive Garden, a chain Italian restaurant in the US. While this visit gave me an inkling of what fairly okay Italian cuisine was and the innumerable pastas and the sauces, it also showed me a preview of my life with A. A turned from a respectable married man to a hungry grad student (who starves himself because he is eating out that night, though A didn't really starve that day!) He gorged on the free breadsticks (which are really good, and a tad salty for me) and the salad. I struggled with the salad initially, though now I love it. He ordered his most favorite pasta of all. Fettucine with Alfredo sauce. While I gagged at the cheesiness of it, I quite enjoyed my spicy tomato sauce based pasta. However, after every such meal at any Italian restaurant, A had one misgiving. That he could not find vegetarian 'meatballs' because he loved the idea of a tomato sauce with meatballs and spaghetti. Over time, I've realized that my favorite kind of pasta is the Spaghetti family - the fettucine, the linguine, and the spaghetti itself, but of course :)

So, we tried to make these faux meatballs in the past. When I say faux, I don't mean we used TVP or something like that to get the meaty texture. The texture wasn't really what we were looking for. We looked for solid cutlets/or dumplings with veggies in them. The first time we tried it, we used just tofu-crumbled, and bread crumbs and some olive oil to bind them. While it tasted great, it wasn't firm enough. The next time around, we tried adding a beaten egg to the dumpling mixture. It turned out okay, nothing spectacular. We still wanted to achieve something without eggs. In the true Indian essence of vegetarian :)

This time around, in fact, just last night, I decided to surprise A with a Spaghetti-meatballs. I forgot about our previous attempts and went ahead and made my dumplings my way. Crumbled tofu, some chopped spinach, bread crumbs, some olives and olive oil. I was surprised it just took just about 10-15 mins for me to make these dumplings. I baked them instead of deep-frying them and they worked out fine, in my opinion. A wanted them to be a little firmer, and since I baked them, they also flattened them a wee bit. And A felt that they weren't rounder. Fair enough :) There's always the next time. I don't think I wanted to give up on baking them.

This is how I made them.

Ingredients

For the 'meatballs'

Half a block of extra firm tofu

A handful of spinach leaves- chopped

A fistful of olives - finely chopped

1-2 tsp dried oregano

Bread crumbs - 1/4 cup

Olive oil - 1-2 tbsp

For the tomato sauce

1-2 tomatoes, roughly chopped or a can of crushed tomatoes. We preferred the fresh ones.

1/2 an onion chopped

1 tbsp of butter

1-2 tbsp of chopped garlic

1-2 tsp dried basil ( Use fresh basil if you have them!)

2 cups of Tomato sauce ( we used a 16 oz. can)

Salt

Chilli Powder

For the pasta

Follow instructions on package and prepare the spaghetti accordingly.

1. Mix all the ingredients in the 'meatballs' list and form into balls. If you find them breaking off or not binding well enough to stay, feel free to add some more breadcrumbs.

2. Roll these 'meatballs' in bread crumbs and arrange on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. I added a drop on each dumpling.

3. Bake for 20-25 mins and broil for a minute or so. It could even take 30 mins. Bake for 10-15 mins on each side. Then turn the balls over very delicately and drizzle another drop of olive oil. Once they are done, switch off the oven and then let them be. Don't touch them. They will get a little firmer as they are when they cool down.

4. For the sauce, add 1/2 tbsp butter onto the sauce pan, fry the garlic and the onion. Once they are cooked, add the chopped fresh tomatoes and salt and chilli powder. Let the tomatoes cook down. Then add the sauce, the herb -basil and the other 1/2 tbsp butter and let them cook for a good 30-40 mins.

I usually start the sauce first and then move on to doing the 'meatballs.' The sauce tastes best the next day. So, you could make the tomato sauce the previous day and use it for the dish the next day. The same goes for the 'meatballs' as well, though you can't resist eating some :D on their own.

When the pasta is ready and the sauce is bubbling, add the 'meatballs' before you eat them up and let it be for a good 10 mins. Now, its time!

While the pictures shows you a very delicate bowl with pasta and sauce with 'meatballs' on top and cheese on them. We savagely mixed everything up (okay, make that delicate thanks to the meatballs) and ate it up quick!

The reason why the 'meatballs' ingredients are not exact measurements are because of two reasons. One, that it is totally upto you. You want more spinach - go ahead and add them. Or any other veggies for that matter. I'm planning to add onion and carrot the next time around. Also, I didn't really take care to 'dry-squeeze' any of my 'meatball' ingredients. I should have. I chopped the tofu into long thin strips and went crazy with the knife, hacking them left, right and center :D, chopped the spinach after washing them and my olives came from a can, so just chopped them after draining them. Either way, I didn't spread them on a paper towel and dry them. Maybe that is another reason why they weren't 'rounded' and weren't as firm.

Second reason why those ingredients are not exactly measured is because :D I forgot about the food blog. Its been so long and after the India trip, its easy to just throw things together and hope it turns out the way your mom or your mom-in-law makes it since the measurements are the same!

This worked out quite wonderfully, though I'd avoid the olives next time. I don't like olives. I made this huge sacrifice (sacrifice no. n+1 :D) for the sake of surprising A. He, of course, came and gave his expert, unasked for, unsolicited opinion and advice about these dumplings.

You know, my father-in-law told me once that it was better to be like him - he does not know how to boil water, than to be like A. He told me, when you marry men who know to cook and enjoy it, your food is always an object of an all-knowing critic's opinion. While I laughed it off that time, thanking God that my husband could cook, I sometimes think he's right. But then, what is the fun of living with A if he praises me all the time. Considering :D I never even think of praising him!

We are planning to grow some herbs and some veggies this summer. Ours is a small patio and we can only keep pots. Any advice and all recommendations are more than welcome. Not all of you are A, after all ;)

P.S. - Sala at Veggiebelly has a great Spaghetti with spinach-'meatballs' recipe on at her beautiful blog right now :)

Butternut Squash and Red Bell Pepper Pasta

Its no secret that I am a huge fan of the squash family. As we hit the Atlanta Farmers' Market every other weekend, I can't wait to get to that aisle. I guess one of the biggest reason I love squashes is that they're so versatile. They can be used in soups, koftas, purees, koottus, saambaars, sauces and pies among many others. Heck, people even make pastas out of them!

N, on the other hand is not a big fan of the family. She cares about squashes as much as I care about Hugh Grant and chick flicks. She that they're vapid and slimy. She thinks that every squash tastes the same. I retort by saying that she is confusing squashes with Hugh Grant's movies ;) I guess I'm entering dangerous territory now so I'd better stop!

No big story here...we typically experiment with pastas. We tried this on a whim and it turned out pretty good.

Ingredients (serves 3-4):

1 large (or 2 medium) large butternut squash, peeled and cubed

2 large red bell peppers, cubed

1/3 c parmesan cheese

4 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp butter

1 lb spaghetti, cooked al dente as per instructions

salt, to taste

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tbsp red pepper flakes

1 1/2 tsp sage (I used dry, crushed sage)

1. Heat oven to 400F. Take the olive oil in a small bowl and place it in the middle rack while its preheating.

2. When the oil is hot enough (the viscosity goes down quite a bit), immediately pour it on the squash and red bell pepper cubes, placed in separate bowls. I use this trick often to use less oil to coat the veggies. Add the salt, paprika and the sage and toss the veggies.

4. Get started with the pasta.

3. Put the butternut squash cubes on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with aluminum foil/parchment paper) on the middle rack. Cook until fork tender, about 10 mins. Broil lightly until the top starts to brown. Take out the squash and put it back in its bowl.

4. Roast the red bell peppers next until nicely roasted. Remove from the oven.

5. Heat some butter in a pan and toss the pasta right after you drain it. Add the red pepper flakes. If there is any oil/spice remaining in the bowls used for tossing the veggies, take some of the pasta from the pan and roll it into the bowls. Never waste fats!

6. Toss in the roasted veggies.

7. Parm the pasta, i.e toss the pasta with Parmesan cheese. If Google can be a verb, then say hello to Parm!

7. What are you waiting for, dig in!

This is a dry pasta but simple and flavorful. We thought that the squash and the red bell pepper went really well with each other. The sage worked well with the squash and the paprika and the red pepper flakes were a nice contrast to the inherently sweet squash and the red bell peppers.

Enough chutzpah...but I do recommend it ;) Its tasteful and not too unctuous...take that, Hugh Grant!

Ricotta Gnocchi - Daring Cooks!

We are back! Can you tell? Can you tell that I'm posting this in a hurry? This time, the cooks got an opportunity to get daring, and you know how Daring A and I are :P, so we signed up and didn't really regret it. Oh, my waist did, but then what is that treadmill for, and husbands for, if not for venting it out. Right?

Okay, I'm going to cut to the chase and tell you what we did for Daring Cooks. I'm sure you've seen on all other Daring Cooks' blogs, the fabulous Ricotta Gnocchi. Well, we did the same, only some of ours weren't firm enough thanks to inexperience, some arguments in the kitchen and sheer exhaustion. I promise we will do better next time! We made our own Ricotta and halved the recipe. This recipe is from the famous Zuni Cafe.

Ingredients

1 cup fresh Ricotta
1large cold egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tbsp Butter, melted
A couple of Sage leaves/1/2 tsp Dry Sage
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/8 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
1/8 tsp Salt
All-Purpose Flour for rolling the Gnocchi

We made our own Ricotta and let it strain overnight and for half a day. In spite of this, there was still some moisture left. Sigh.

Anyway, we decided to pucker up and do our best on this recipe and make the Gnocchi. Here are the steps we followed.

1. Mash the ricotta well to form a smooth paste like mix. You may mash it with a spatula and make sure to rub it across the dish to make sure there are solid curd like formations.

2. Add the lightly beaten egg to the mashed ricotta.

3. Melt the tablespoon of butter. As it melts, add in the sage if you’re using it. If not, just melt the butter and add it to the ricotta mixture.

4. Add in any flavouring that you’re using (i.e., nutmeg, lemon zest, etc.). If you’re not using any particular flavouring, that’s fine.

5. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and the salt.

6. Beat all the ingredients together very well. You should end up with a soft and fluffy batter with no streaks (everything should be mixed in very well).

To form the Gnocchi:

7. In a large, shallow baking dish or on a sheet pan, make a bed of all-purpose flour that’s ½ an inch deep. Meanwhile, fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil. When it boils, salt the water generously and keep it at a simmer. You will use this water to test the first Gnocchi that you make to ensure that it holds together and that your Gnocchi batter isn’t too damp.

8. Using a tablespoon, scoop up about 2 to 3 teaspoons of batter and then holding the spoon at an angle, use your finger tip to gently push the ball of dough from the spoon into the bed of flour.

9. At this point you can either shake the dish or pan gently to ensure that the flour covers the Gnocchi or use your fingers to very gently dust the Gnocchi with flour. Gently pick up the Gnocchi and cradle it in your hand rolling it to form it in an oval as best as you can, at no point should you squeeze it. What you’re looking for is an oval lump of sorts that’s dusted in flour and plump.

10. Gently place your Gnocchi in the simmering water. It will sink and then bob to the top. From the time that it bobs to the surface, you want to cook the Gnocchi until it’s just firm. This could take 3 to 5 minutes.

Have a sheet pan ready to rest the formed Gnocchi on. Line the sheet pan with wax or parchment paper and dust it with flour.

For the sauce:

5-6 tbsp Red pepper, finely chopped
1 tsp Sage or any herbs you may want
1/2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper/paprika

We stuck to a simple sauce. We tossed some finely chopped red peppers and some sage in some butter and accentuated our already rich Gnocchi with some colour ;)

The recipe recommended that we make the Gnocchi, test one or two and then refrigerate the rest for an hour or so. We highly recommend this step. If it wasn't for this resting time, our Gnocchi would have surely crumbled in the water.

And this Gnocchi is WORTH it all. It was so light and so, so, so good that my mouth salivates even now as I write this post. Some of our Gnocchi was not firm while the rest withstood the hot water test pretty well ;) Frankly, we were too tired to take too many pics. So, I leave you with few pics, but this is a must try at least once. I've tried the potato Gnocchi (which I thought was tough) but found the Ricotta Gnocchi needs a lot more patience and yeah, make sure that Ricotta was drained properly. I'm sure if we'd let it strain for another day, our Gnocchis would have been firmer.

At the end of it all, we loved doing this challenge. We've always wanted to try Ricotta Gnocchi, just not had the courage so far. This challenge pushed us and we are looking forward to doing more with the Daring Cooks!

Pesto Margherita!

N sulks. "why can't we be cool like the Daring Bakers?"

A: Oh we are, we just don't want to show off. N (stares unbelievingly- then decides to believe) : *hmph* I need to do something to show I'm as brilliant as any of them.

A: Let's bake a pizza?

N: Everyone does that. *wail*

A: Hey, how about a pesto pizza?

N (perks up at anything pestoey): Come! We will post it on the 27th. Just when the DB post theirs. Everyone will get tired of the sweet concoctions and come for salvation to our blog no?

A (looking away): Sure thing. Isn't there something else on the 27th?

N: Hmm... oh its Nags' first anniversary! And they love pizza! We are more thoughtful than the Daring Bakers no? I mean, we are making this for a friend, right?

A: Of course, of course. You are the nicest of 'em all. Now pizza or no pizza?

This conversation was held a couple of weeks ago after we debated whether we should join Daring Bakers or not. Quite frankly, if we joined DB, we'd spend more time cleaning the sugar syrup off the kitchen floor than really making the dessert. So, in a very forgiving spirit, we decided to let the Daring Bakers do their thing. We shall do ours. Pesto is my thing, and pizza is his thing, and together, we are the 'leering at pizza' bakers which is a far fun name than Daring Bakers, don't ya think? Also, to cover up for our selfishness, we are posting this in honour of a very dear friend of mine who has forcefully made friends with A too (she wouldn't be my friend if she didn't use force, duh!) who is celebrating her first year of her married life today on the 27th. Nags and her DH, this pizza goes out to you. Really. I mean we made it for you only. Even though our common friends decided NOT to come to my wedding in order to save their vacation leaves at work to come to yours. And all because it was held in a very hot (literally!) Kerala. Anyway, since I'm nice and all, I've forgotten all that and so, here's wishing you a happy, happy Anniversary :) Hope you have as much fun as we are having (not!) :P

We cook 'really' elaborately during the weekends. Okay, we cook elaborately everyday. But during the weekends, it is either high-risk experiments, haphazard timings for meals, some sitting in front of the oven watching the stuff inside. Some fights, some make-up time while the slow cooking dish takes its time ;)

This is one such recipe. I watched somewhere a pesto pizza being made. We'd never eaten a pesto pizza. That aside, I adore pesto. I can live on pesto if my waist wasn't giving me hints. I eat pesto with all types of bread. I decided it was time for a pesto pizza. I also love Margherita. Now, why compromise? Its not like A has a say anyway. So, that is exactly what we made! And it was so beautiful. I'm telling you ti was a beautiful dish to look at (now, this is not a sweet thing made by DB ok? So, we are different. So we are beautiful in our own way ok?). I loved that we baked it in a cookie tray and not our usual pizza stone. Take a look?

Don't you want the recipe? I can almost see you scrolling down to skip my drivel and going to the recipe. (Ah! What confidence!) :D

Ingredients

For the dough:

2 1/4 All purpose flour or Maida

1/3 cup semolina flour or Rava

3/4 cup milk

1 tbsp Olive Oil

2 tsp Active Dry yeast

2 tsp Sugar

2tsp Salt

1. Warm milk, olive oil and sugar (either in the microwave or gas). Make sure the sugar is dissolved. Add yeast and let it sit for 10 mins until it is nice and frothy.

2. In the meantime, in a large bowl, add the flours and salt. Make a well in the center.

3. Add the frothy yeast in the well and incorporate the flour slowly. Work on it until all of is incorporated. Knead well for 5- 10 mins (Think Michelle Obama arms here :P). If the dough is too sticky, go ahead and add some more flour. Coat dough with olive oil and cover the dough with moist cloth and let it rest and rise until nearly double the volume.

4. Once risen, push dough back to release air and then let it rest for 20 more mins.

Once the dough is ready, stretch it across the cookie tray which is lined with aluminium foil. Ours was - 15"/7" and 3/4" deep. You could of course use a circular pizza stone for this. Before stretching it out on the cookie tray, you can roll it into a rough rectangular shape using a rolling pin.





















Once the dough is all stretched out on the tray, poke with a fork to create air gaps.

For the Pesto:

2.5 cups spinach

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1/4 cup Olive oil

1/3 cup roasted peanuts

1/4 cup milk

2-3 green chillies, chopped

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp tarragon

This is simple! Just blend all of this to form a thick paste/pesto. You could saute the spinach before putting it in too. We used baby spinach and didn't think we needed it. We used peanuts instead of the traditional pine nuts or any other nuts. No, we were not being inventive. Strangely, we didn't have any other nuts in the house. Apart from A, who I'd loved to throw into the blender, but well, I needed to check on the insurance thing. So, I desisted this time around.


Assembling the pizza

1/3 cup mozzarella

1/2 cup bell peppers - we used the green ones

1/3 cup onion - thinly sliced

Tomato slices - depends on how long/big your tray is and how many you want.

2 tsp oregano

On the cookie tray holding the stretched out dough, spread the pesto and sprinkle some half the mozzarella cheese and then throw in the veggies except for tomatoes. Arrange the tomatoes in rows and and throw the rest of the cheese and the oregano. Drizzle some Olive Oil on top of your creation and bake it for 25-30 mins. The cheese should be all melted and gooey and the sides of the crust should be brown. We also broiled it for a few seconds, but highly inadvisable if you are going to be jumping up and down in anticipation of the pizza, and not really looking at how much broiling is happening!

And, and, we are sending to Neha for FIC: Red and Green, an event conceptualized by the colourful Sunshinemom!

Okay, back to pesto! May I say myself, at the risk of sounding immodest that this was my idea and I'm extremely, extremely proud of this? Can you tell we didn't eat dinner that night? And that we walked for 3 miles and came back and couldn't even drink milk? Can you tell that we still slept with a smile and gooey dreams.

No? Yes? NO? Then, try this pizza and analyze your dreams. Make it with your partner and its more fun ;)

A (eating his nth slice of pizza): BTW, weren't you on a 'lower carbs' thing?

N (licking the cup that had the pesto): I can't hear when I eat. We'll talk later.

Eggplant Caponata

While A sat waiting for me outside the doctor's office flipping through various 'health' magazines, he watched this recipe on a Mario Batali show on Food Network. He, very obviously, ditched the magazine and concentrated on the show. We came back from the hospital and A immediately went and bought an eggplant. In true bourgeois homes style, he left for work asking me to prepare the Eggplant Caponata as shown by Batali, one of A's favourite chefs. While I am an eggplant afficionado, I saw that this recipe consisted of tomato and thought it will be like another Baingan-wali sabzi ;) But, boy, oh boy! Was I surprised or what! This recipe is a winner (inspite of the horrible pics!) and came out perfectly delicious and it is a regular now.

Without any further ado, this is the recipe. Here it is for your convenience (Thanks Nags!)

• 1/2 cup virgin olive oil
• 1 large Spanish onion, chopped in 1/2-inch dice
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts
• 3 tablespoons currants
• 1 tablespoon hot chili flakes, plus extra for garnish
• 2 medium eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (to yield 4 cups)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon
• 1/4 cup basic tomato sauce, recipe follows
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 5 sprigs mint, chopped

1. In a large 12 to 14-inch saute pan, over medium heat, heat the olive oil until hot but not smoking. Add the onions, pine nuts, currants and chili flakes and saute for 4 to 5 minutes until softened.

2. Add the eggplant, sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa and continue to cook for 5 more minutes. Add the thyme, tomato sauce, and balsamic vinegar. Bring the mixture to a boil.

3. Lower the heat and simmer the mixture for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature, garnish with mint and chili flakes. Serve the caponata spooned on crostini or in middle of table with crostini on side to allow guests to help themselves.

Basic tomato sauce

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Spanish onion, 1/4-inch dice
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried
1/2 medium carrot, finely grated
2 (28-ounce) cans peeled whole tomatoes, crushed by hand and juices reserved
Salt

The changes I made to the recipe, apart making it for 2 people? Here you go:

1. More cocoa :P

2. Less tomato/tomato sauce and store-bought

3. Regular white vinegar instead of balsamic vinegar.

4. Used a regular white onion and not a Spanish onion

We ate it with some home-made bread, the recipe of which I may post later.

I thought this could very well serve as a great pasta sauce if thinned out with some more tomatoes or make it more liquidy with a little stock or pasta's starchy water. We initialy wanted to make a bruschetta of this and so the thick consistency! This is not an exotic recipe for all the hype in the name. Do try and let us know how it turned out!

Say Cheese! Say Lasagna :)

When someone included gluttony in the list of sins, that person may not have known or eaten Italian food! The artistic convolutions of pastas, the breathtaking aroma of olive oil, basil and oregano, the bread that looks like a gilded sponge and above all, the irresistible taste of white gold....cheese, the classy, rich pasta all the while, maintaining the rustic heartiness! Sigh.

It all started for me 6 years ago when I first stepped into the US for my studies. My dad's classmate from college and his wife went above and beyond to make me feel at home. For me, although my mother's food ranks at the top, whenever, whatever, this aunt of mine certainly scored with her Italian cooking! I had my first taste of home made Italian cooking at their place in Florida. My aunt, an American, has some great lip-smacking recipes up her sleeve. The first Italian food that she cooked for me was Lasagna. A pound of Ricotta, a pound of Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese and some fresh, homemade marinara sauce later, I was a fan, then and forever! That was one unforgettable indulgence. She was only too happy to pass on the tricks of the trade to me along with the recipe. But when N and I decided to try it on a lazy Sunday afternoon back in Hotlanta (that's what Atlanta is called in summer!), the evil but sane "healthy eater" in us woke up and started to prod our minds with his sharp trident of guilt! So we decided to put a low(er!) fat spin on this traditional Italian preparation. Now, you can indulge :)

Ingredients

1 packet Lasagna noodles

2 lb marinara sauce (homemade or branded)
3/4 lb fresh mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried parsley flakes

1 tsp dried oregano

2 cloves of finely chopped garlic

1 large yellow squash

1 large zucchini

2 medium sized bell peppers

2 tbsp olive oil

3 dried and crushed red chillies

salt to taste

'nuff making....lets do some bakin'

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Cook the noodles according to the directions given in the packet. 1 packet typically has ~15-18 noodles. Usually, we fill 3/4th of a large and tall utensil with water, add a few drops of olive oil and some salt and bring it to a rolling boil. Then gently immerse the noodles and let them cook for 8-10 minutes. If the noodles do not immerse completely in the beginning, do not worry! Just keep checking on them and try to push them all the way in as they cook. Sometimes, they themselves slip in once they start getting cooked. Drain the noodles and set them aside to cool down.

3. In a pan, add 1 tbsp olive oil, and when it is hot enough, throw in the chopped garlic. Saute until done. Next, stir fry all the veggies. Add half of the herbs (basil, parsley, crushed red chillies and oregano) and some salt to taste, and cook them until they are half done.

4. In another pan, add 1 tbsp olive oil and cook the marinara sauce (if purchased from store). Add the remaining red chillies and salt to taste and let it simmer for 10-15 mins until it starts to bubble. Set aside to cool for sometime.

5. In a baking dish (ours is 14" X 9" and 1.5" deep), grease the bottom with marinara sauce. Make sure that this layer of marinara is thick since this will ensure that the noodles do not stick to the bottom of the pan. (Note you are not greasing the pan with cooking spray/butter).

Arrange a layer of noodles vertically, such that successive noodles overlap slightly. Then apply another layer of the marinara sauce. Next, apply a layer of seasoned vegetables.Then a layer of mozzarella. We bought a big cube of the cheese so we shredded it on top of the marinara layer.

6. Put another layer of the noodles, this time horizontally. However, it is not necessary to arrange these in this alternative manner. You can lay all the noodles in different layers, all vertically. Repeat with the marinara, vegetables and mozzarella layers.

7. Continue to create layers like this until all the noodles are exhausted. After the final layer of noodles, apply a layer of marinara and spread the remaining mozzarella. Top it off with some Parmesan and sprinkle the remaining herbs (parsley, oregano and basil) evenly. The top of the baking dish should look like a giant pearly slab encrusted with green emeralds!

8. Cover it tightly with aluminum foil and put it in the oven. Let it cook for ~30-35 mins or until the cheeses at the top have melted and the marinara is bubbling.

9. Allow it to cool down for 10 mins. Please be warned that the smell and the appearance of the Lasagna will produce a strong urge to skip this step but for the safety of your own tongues, try to do it ;) It was drooling time once again for us!

Ours came out well for something that had no ricotta cheese. We used part skim mozzarella to further cut down on the fats. Its all relative you see ;) This was fatty for sure, but certainly better than making a layer of the ricotta cheese :P Make sure that the baking tray is smack in the middle of the oven for proper cooking. You could add/reduce the red chillies to adjust the degree of 'hotness' of your Lasagna. You could always mix some Alfredo sauce along with your marinara to give it a different hue as well as flavor. The choice of vegetables is absolutely yours but we strongly recommend not to skip the bell peppers. they add a great zesty flavor we found simply irresistible! We've used dry herbs but you could very well use fresh basil and parsley leaves.

P.S. - If you're doing the ricotta cheese version, make sure to beat the mozzarella cheese with the ricotta and add some nutmeg to this mixture. Beat this mixture well and use this as one of the layers apart from the marinara and the veggies.