Artichoke Mushroom Lasagna

My brother passed this recipe along to me after my mom gave it rave reviews. I was definitely curious about the vegetarian lasagna that my mom loved so much. The recipe comes from a vegetarian slow cooker book, 125 Best Vegetarian Slow Cooker Recipes. According to Amazon and my brother, it’s a great book.

But actually, I didn’t end up using the crock pot for this one. The recipe calls for a lot of prep work and pre-cooking, and I ran out of time that morning, so I ended up baking it in the oven like I would for a traditional lasagna.

And, because I used a small glass casserole dish, I didn’t have room to stack it up like the recipe calls for. So I made two lasagnas and put one in the freezer to cook another time. I also used less cheese than the recipe calls for. And believe it or not, I didn’t add any spices whatsoever. And it didn’t need any. No salt, no pepper, no nothing. Just tasty as is.

Artichoke Mushroom Lasagna
2 Tbs butter
1 finely chopped onion
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 ½ cups quartered artichoke hearts, drained
¾ cup dry white wine or vegetable stock
12 oven-ready lasagna noodles
2 ½ cups ricotta cheese
2 cups spinach
2 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan

Melt butter over medium-high heat in skillet. Add onion, cook until softened. Add mushrooms and garlic and cook until they begin to wilt. Stir in artichokes and wine and bring to a boil. Cook for 1 or 2 minutes. Set aside.

Stacking: Layer 4 noodles on bottom. Spread with half of the ricotta, half of mushroom mixture, half of spinach, and one-third each of the mozzarella and Parmesan. Repeat. Arrange final layer of noodles over the top. Pour any liquid from the mushroom mixture over the top of the noodles to keep them from drying out. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.

If you’re cooking in the slow cooker, cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. If you’re cooking in the oven, try about 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

I used a mixture of baby portabella and regular, white mushrooms. I also used red-stem spinach instead of baby spinach like the recipe called for. And, of course, I didn’t find pre-cooked lasagna noodles, so I had to pre-boil them. And, as I said earlier, I only stacked the first layer and then the top noodles because I ran out of room in the pan. Two layers would have been much better, but we just ate twice as much to make up for it.

Believe it or not, I didn’t even tweak the recipe, other than what I already mentioned. I didn’t add anything, subtract anything, or give in to the urge to throw some seasoning and spices in. I’m glad I didn’t. It was perfect as is. I honestly wouldn’t change anything the next time I cooked it.

The recipe did seem like a lot of prep work, especially for a crock pot recipe, but I think it was worth it. I’ll try to remember and update with how the frozen version goes once I cook it. I think this is the sort of recipe that will probably be a great frozen dinner. Prep work, pre-cooking, and stacking on the weekend, then enjoy during the week.

If you need to impress your vegetarian friends or family, I think this recipe just might be the one. Yes, everybody has tried the vegetarian lasagnas, but this one is different. And good.