Image: Garfieldminusgarfield

Recipe courtesy of Carl. We ate it during the thrilling conclusion of Project Runway. Everyone was very happy.

A WHOLOTTALASAGNA (VEGETARIAN)
Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
1 box lasagna noodles (can be more if your pan is larger or you want more starch?)
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic minced
2 cups sliced shitaki mushrooms, sliced into thin strips
1 large eggplant, diced into 1/4 in cubes
1 large carrot, shredded (optional and annoying to shred)
1/2 cup red cooking wine (a really old bottle as long as its not vinegary works fine, it doesn’t have to be good wine)
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
24 ounces canned whole tomatoes
1 1/2 cup canned tomato sauce
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup fresh basil (half diced / half whole leaf)
1 large 16 ounce container ricotta cheese
1 1/4 cups shredded parmesan cheese
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg

Prep:
Chop all your vegetables before cooking everything. Dice all that Parsley, Basil, carrots, mushrooms, eggplant, onion etc. Also get out 2 baking sheets (with wax paper or oiled if not non-stick) for the lasagna noodles to rest on after cooking (this is really important).

You will also need a 9 x 13 or 9 x 12 pan to cook this in. It’s a WHOLOTTALASAGNA.

Directions
1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet until shimmering.

1a. As olive oil is heating also put on a really large pot of water to boil lasagna noodles.

2. Add onion, garlic, eggplant, and mushrooms to skillet. You will cook all of this for 15 – 20 minutes, or until all ingredients are soft. Make sure the eggplant gets really well cooked, as its much tastier that way.

2a. When water in the large pot is boiling dump in all the lasagna noodles into the pot.

3. Add carrot, wine, parsley, tomato sauce, and whole tomatoes to skillet with eggplant and mushrooms. I cut up tomatoes in the can with a clean pair of scissors.

3a. Follow instructions on the box for cooking the lasagna noodles, (8 – 10 minutes). When the lasagna noodles are done, drain them and take tongs or a fork and lay them all out on the baking trays, or plates. If they stay in the colander they will stick together and you will be FUCKED. Seriously.

3b. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. Add oregano, parsley, salt, pepper and a the diced fresh basil to the sauce. You can also add ‘italian seasoning’ if you are lazy. Just make sure it tastes how you like your sauce to taste and probably it should be a little bit saltier since the ricotta is pretty sweet.

5. Simmer sauce uncovered until its thick and delicious. You still want there to be some moisture, but not too much. It should take about 45 minutes to an hour in total to finish the sauce.

6. Grease the bottom of a 9 x 13″ baking dish with non-stick cooking spray, or butter if you are feeling it.

7. Sort your cheeses into bowls. Combine all of the ricotta with the the egg and a 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese. Leave the rest of the cheeses in bowls so you can layer with them.

Building the Lasagna
8. Spread about 1/4 of the sauce in the bottom of the pan. This is your base.

9. Layer 1/4 of the lasagna noodles on top of the sauce base.

10. Grab a silicone spatula and scoop 1/3 of the ricotta / egg / parmesan mixture on top of the noodles. Spread it around awkwardly. Layer remaining basil leaves on top of the cheese mixture.

11. Sprinkle 1/3 of the parmesan and 1/3 of the mozzarella on top of the ricotta mixture.

12. Now throw down 1/3rd of your chunky sauce and go back to step 9 and repeat this 2 more times.

13. You should now have a 4 layers of lasagna with a layer of sauce on top. Add the remaining noodles on top and put more sauce on top. If you have run out of sauce, grab the canned stuff you have laying around in your fridge and throw it on top.

14. Sprinkle your remaining Mozzarella and Parmesan on top of the sauce layer and cover with foil. (Some people suggest you coat the foil with more cooking spray… whatever).

15. Put it in the oven.

16. Bake for 25 minutes and then remove the foil.

17. Bake for another 25 – 30 minutes.

18. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. It’s molten hot inside.

19. Enjoy.