ARTICHOKE LASAGNA

This is a nice twist on traditional lasagna. While it has lots of cheese, the artichokes and peas create a lighter dish. Make sure you let the lasagna rest before serving so the cheeses are hot but set.

Ingredients:

16 oz frozen artichokes or jarred/drained

1 lb bag frozen peas

2 (15 oz) containers whole milk ricotta cheese

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

4 cups grated mozzarella cheese

1-1/2 cups whipping cream

1/4 cup fresh chopped basil leaves

2 large eggs

1 tsp salt

9 oz package no-boil lasagna noodles

Olive oil for greasing baking dish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Thaw the artichokes and peas. Grease a 13 x 9 pan with olive oil. Mix artichokes, 1/2 cup cream and basil in a bowl. Puree 1 cup cream, ricotta, peas, Parmesan, eggs and salt in another bowl.

Spread 1 cup of the ricotta mixture on the bottom of the pan. Top with a layer of noddles. Break some noodles if you need to cover the entire pan. Spread half the artichoke mixture on the noodles. Spread 2-1/2 cups of the ricotta over the artichokes. Sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella over top. Repeat with noodles, artichoke mixture, 2-1/2 cups ricotta mixture and 1 cup mozzarella. Top with noddles and spread remaining ricotta over the noodles and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.

Loosely cover with foil Bake lasagna for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 25 minutes. Let rest for about 15 minutes before serving.

Nice crusty bread and a chardonnay!

ENJOY!