When I go to the grocery store, I usually buy my staple items in the produce section: apples, bananas, carrots, lettuce, and peppers. Occasionally, I spot a random vegetable and it seems to challenge me. “You think you can make something tasty out of me?… Good luck!” You can thank the eggplant for this deliciousness adapted from the recipe in America’s Test Kitchen cookbook.
When my father-in-law tried this dish for the first time, he told me he could easily see this dish being served at a quality Italian restaurant. My husband Bradley told me he would happily eat this dish every week if I were up to the task of making it that often.

Tomato Sauce
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Cream Sauce
1 cup cottage cheese (small curd)

1 cup heavy cream
2 cups grated parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Vegetable Filling
1 1/2 lb. egg plant cut into 1/2” pieces (or as small as you
want them)
1 lb. zucchini cut into 1/2” pieces (or as small as you want
them)
1 lb. yellow summer squash cut into 1/2 “ pieces (or as
small as you want them)
2 6.5-ounce cans of sliced mushrooms
5 Tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves minced
1 Tablespoon minced thyme
12 ounces spinach
1/2 cup pitted olives, chopped
3 cups mozzarella cheese
12 cooked lasagna noodles

Cook the 12 lasagna noodles according to package instructions.
Mix together the tomato sauce ingredients in a separate bowl &
set aside. Mix together the cream sauce ingredients in a separate
bow & set aside. Heat 4 Tablespoons oil in a skillet. Add eggplant,
squash, zucchini, and mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook for
7 minutes. Clear a space in the center of the mixture and add 1
Tablespoon oil, garlic, and thyme and let it cook for 30 seconds
or so before stirring it into the rest of the vegetable mixture. Add
spinach to the mixture and cook until it begins to wilt. Remove
from heat.
In a greased 9”x13” baking dish, layer the ingredients in the
following order:
1 cup tomato sauce spread on the bottom
4 cooked lasagna noodles
Half of the vegetable mixture
Half of the olives
Half of the cream sauce
1 cup mozzarella cheese
4 cooked lasagna noodles
1 cup tomato sauce
The rest of the vegetable mixture
The rest of the olives
The rest of the cream sauce
1 cup mozzarella cheese
4 cooked lasagna noodles
The rest of the tomato sauce
The rest of the cheese
Cover with tinfoil and bake @ 375 for 40 minutes. Let it cool for
25 minutes. Enjoy!
*Tip: Every time I’ve made this, it has seemed impossible to fit it
all in one pan. I like to cook 4 extra noodles and use a bread pan
to make a bonus dish into which I disperse the ingredients.