Sanctuary from The Mad World
Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what's for lunch. - Orson Welles

Servings: 6 servings

If there is one dish I avoid when dining outside, it’s lasagna (or actually, any kind of pasta-based dishes I can make at home, but particularly lasagna). It’s the economy, actually. I hate paying so much for such a little square of deliciousness. There is only a place where I think it’s all worth it, this little vegetarian bakery, Bio Andreas AG which is not on Andreasplatz but on Schneidergasse: the spinach, abundant and extremely fresh, is sandwiched between soft pasta and generous cheese.

Pardon my digression. This recipe is from my trusted Cordon Bleu Pasta cookbook. I modified this a little to ensure sufficient fibre by adding frozen spinach, green pepper, carrot, and celery.

Ingredients:
12 small sheets of no-cook lasagna

500 g ground beef
2 400-g cans tomatoes
1 large onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 celery, diced
1 green pepper, diced
3 bay leaves
Oregano, thyme, salt, pepper, to taste
Olive oil for frying

100 g(or more) spinach, frozen or fresh
400 g ricotta cheese
200 ml milk
2 eggs

50 g Parmesan, grated

Directions:
First, make the tomato sauce. Heat olive oil on a pan and add the onion. Saute until soft. Add the ground beef and cook halfway. Add carrot, celery, and green pepper. Give them a stir or two before adding in the canned tomatoes. Season with bay leaves, oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper. Simmer until sauce is thick. Set aside.

Mix in a bowl the thawed or scalded spinach with ricotta cheese, milk, and eggs. Set aside.

Heat the oven at 200 degrees Celsius.

Layer the pasta sheet alternatively with tomato sauce and spinach mixture to fill in a lasagna dish. The last layer should be tomato sauce topped with grated Parmesan. Bake for about 30-40 minutes until golden. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before cutting.