Vegetable Lasagna with Lemon Garlic Sauce

I'm still making and freezing meals for my mom. So far, she loves (or says she loves) all the food. She especially enjoyed the bean burritos, and grilled salmon with asparagus risotto.

I searched around for a veggie lasagna for my mom, and found this one. The lemon and garlic in the bechamel sauce appealed to me - lemon and garlic are two of my favorite flavors. And anything packed with noodles and veggies is fine by me.


Lemon-Garlic Vegetable Lasagna
Adapted from Hot Off The Garlic Press

Sauce:
¼ c butter
5 cloves garlic, finely minced
¼ c flour
4 c whole milk
1/3 c fresh grated Parmesan
1/3 c fresh grated Pecorino
Zest of 1 lemon
Salt and Pepper

Vegetable Filling
3 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and shredded
3 cloves garlic
1 zucchini, diced
1 yellow squash, diced
10 mushrooms, sliced
½ bag baby spinach

For lasagna:
Lasagna noodles
3 c shredded mozzarella
Large carton of ricotta cheese
Grated Parmesan

For the Sauce: Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute garlic in melted butter for 1 minute, stirring frequently to keep garlic from burning. Stir in the flour with a whisk and cook for another minute. Whisk in the milk, stirring vigorously to prevent lumps. Heat sauce until bubbling and thickened. Reduce heat to low, add Parmesan, Pecorino, and lemon zest. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the vegetable filling: Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and carrot and cook until soft. Add garlic, zucchini, squash, and mushrooms. Sauté another 5 minutes. Add spinach and cook until wilted. Remove from heat and set aside.

To assemble the lasagna, cook noodles in batches of 4 or 5 at a time, cooking until al dente (noodles should still be a little stiff.) Pour a little sauce in the bottom of a 13x9-inch deep dish baking pan. (Alternately, I use two 5x7x2-inch baking dishes and freeze one for later.) Spread sauce so the entire bottom is covered with a thin layer. Place a layer of noodles on top of the sauce. Layer some of the vegetable filling, more sauce, then some mozzarella. Place another layer of noodles on top. Layer ricotta, vegetable filling, sauce, and mozzarella. If you have space, repeat with another layer of noodles, vegetables, sauce, and mozzarella. For the final layer, use noodles, sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan. Bake at 375°F for 20-30 minutes, until cheese is browned and bubbly. Remove from oven and let sit for 20 minutes. Use extra sauce to serve with pieces of lasagna.