MIXED MUSHROOM AND SPINACH

MIXED MUSHROOM AND SPINACH

yields 6 TO 8 PEOPLE AT ONCE OR YOUR SINGLE ASS

ingredients

  • 1/3 cup slivered or sliced almonds
  • 1 1/4 cup packed torn basil leaves
  • 2 TBL olive oil
  • 2 TBL water
  • 1 TBL lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 to 3 clove garlic
  • 16 ounces button or cremini mushrooms
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 6 cup spinach
  • Salt
  • 1 LB lasagna noodles
  • Double batch of House Marinara
  • Double batch of Tofu Ricotta
  • Sliced tomatoes (optional)

Instructions

0 chop garlic

1 Put all the ingredients for the pesto in a food processor and blend until smooth-ish. No

food processor? Chill the out. Just put the almonds in a plastic bag and smash them up

with a rolling pin or a can until they are tiny, and chop the rest of that up super small, too.

Mix it with a fork until it looks like a paste. Set it aside.

2 To make the filling, remove any tough mushroom stems and slice up the mushrooms into

pieces no larger than a nickel. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the

mushrooms and sauté for about 2 minutes. Fold in the spinach, add a small pinch of salt, and

continue cooking until all the spinach is wilted, about 3 more minutes. Turn off the heat and

stir in 2 TBL of the pesto. Taste and add more if you like. You know how you do.

3 Heat your oven to 375°F. Grab an 8 x 10-inch baking dish.

4 Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Ladle about 1 cup of the marinara

sauce into the bottom of the baking dish and lay down enough noodles to cover the bottom

with just a bit of overlap. Spread about one-third of the ricotta down, followed by one-third of

the mushroom filling, and then pour another cup of the sauce over top. Spread a spoonful or

two of the pesto over all of that and then do another layer of noodles. Repeat the whole process

until you run out of room and top with the final layer of noodles. Cover the noodles with the

remaining sauce. If you want to look extra fancy, add sliced tomato rounds on top.

5 Cover that whole heavy mother er with foil and throw it in the oven for about 30

minutes. Gently take off the foil after that and bake it until the edges of the noodles start to

look a little golden, another 25 to 30 minutes. Let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes before going to

town. Top with some of the remaining pesto and serve.

Modifications

You can do half and half or whatever.