Vegetable lasagna

Carmen, author of Yerbabuena en la cocina , brings us a classic vegetable lasagna recipe, made with spinach, ricotta and a good dose of zucchini. Make sure the pasta is fresh and homemade, and you'll see...!!

Any time of year is a good time to enjoy a plate of fresh pasta , so today I bring you this vegetable lasagna with spinach and zucchini. Impossible to resist it!

Until recently, fresh pasta was a pending subject for me: I was a bit afraid of preparing it at home in an artisanal way, it seemed very complicated... but nothing could be further from the truth! Since I discovered how simple it is and the infinite possibilities it offers to make it according to our own criteria or taste, there is not a week that I can't resist and that I don't put my wonderful Imperia machine to work.

With this lasagna, flour, eggs and water, you can give free rein to your imagination and surprise even the most demanding of your guests. Are you up for it? I'll leave you with this lasagna, made with egg yolks instead of whole eggs, which my daughter's boyfriend recommended to me ... that's what it's like to be the mother-in-law of a head chef at an Italian restaurant.

Le Creuset grinder , Le Creuset ceramic salad bowl , peeler from the Gefu XL set and Bérard wooden board .

Ingredients

• 375gr of strong flour
• 125gr of yolks (the yolks of 5 eggs approx.)
• 80gr of water
• 600gr of fried tomato with onion, carrot, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper and sugar
• 300gr of spinach
• 400g of ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs
• Basil
• 250gr of mozzarella cheese
• 2 zucchini
• Parmesan cheese
• Virgin olive oil
• Salt
• Black pepper

Emile Henry oven dish , Le Creuset mill , Microplane Zester grater and Imperia pasta machine .

Elaboration

1. Place the previously sifted flour in a volcano-shaped bowl , add the egg yolks and water in the centre and, using a fork, slowly incorporate the flour towards the centre. Once all the ingredients are mixed, finish by pouring them onto a surface and kneading them with your hands until you get an elastic but hard dough. Wrap in cling film and let it rest for 30 minutes in the fridge. You can also use a food processor such as the KitchenAid with the paddle attachment. To do this, add all the ingredients to the bowl and knead at low speed until all the ingredients are combined.
2. Take the dough out of the fridge and cut it into 3 portions to make rolling it out easier. Roll out the dough a little with a rolling pin and pass it through the smooth slot of the machine at the widest setting, fold it in half and repeat this operation a couple more times. Then reduce the opening by one more number and insert the dough again, doing this with each pass until you get the desired thickness. If the dough sticks during this process, sprinkle the surface with flour. Leave it to dry hanging while you repeat the process with the rest of the portions. Depending on the size of the dish, cut into more or less large pieces.
3. In a bowl, add the spinach, previously sautéed in a pan with a tablespoon of virgin olive oil , the ricotta cheese and the eggs. Season with salt and pepper and stir until everything is smooth.
4. We cut the zucchini into thin slices with a mandolin or a peeler , add salt and set aside.
5. We proceed to assemble the lasagna by placing a layer of fried tomato, preferably homemade, on the bottom of the baking dish . We continue with a layer of our fresh lasagna, on top we place another layer of the spinach, ricotta and egg mixture. Next we put the zucchini slices and sprinkle with parmesan. We place another layer of lasagna sheets, again we put the spinach and ricotta mixture, the zucchini slices sprinkled with parmesan... and so on until we finish with the filling. We finish with a layer of lasagna sheets, which we will cover with fried tomato, basil, coarsely grated mozzarella and finally we will sprinkle again with grated parmesan cheese .
6. Bake for about 35 minutes at 180º, or until the lasagna acquires a nice golden color and the cheeses are well melted.

Emile Henry oven dish , Le Creuset mill and Bérard wooden board .

This time, since the baking time is long, I have not cooked the pasta beforehand. I have not grilled the courgettes either, since I have cut them into very thin slices, but if you like them cooked, you just have to give them a stir in the pan.

I hope you are encouraged to prepare your own fresh homemade pasta. You will not regret it, a world of varied possibilities will open up before you.