Lasagna in a different sort of way....

I say it all the time: I'd be vegan except that I am not giving up cheese. I don't think I've ever met a cheese that I didn't like. Hard cheeses, soft cheeses, salty cheeses, sharp cheeses, creamy cheeses...any and all cheeses. So, I remain "just" a vegetarian.
One of my favorite places to eat cheese is in a lasagna.
I often make lasagna, but sometimes I want to make the same sort of dish with a different sort of pasta.
This version is like the a meatless beefaroni the kids used to like to make out of the can when they were little - only better...much better and cheesier and without meat.
I never thought I'd get sick of lasagna. I wanted the taste, but I just wanted something a little different. This dish is the perfect solution to the I-want-something-a-little-different blues.
This is a great way to get the cheese you crave and the pasta you love.
Use whatever kind of pasta you like and pile on as much of the various cheeses as you'd like.

1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
1 large egg
2 cups grated of mozzarella cheese
12 ounces of small pasta of your choice, cooked according to package directions
Sauce
2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/2 cup basil leaves, coarsly ripped
1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
1 teaspoon of dried oregano, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon of dried rubbed sage
1 6-ounce can of tomato paste
1 14-ounce can of Italian-style stewed tomatoes
1 cup water
  • Make the sauce: Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion, the garlic and the fennel seeds. Sauté until the onion has softened.
  • Stir in the oregano and the sage. Add the tomato paste and cook for a minute. Add the tomatoes and the water.
  • Simmer, stirring occasionally,  until the mixture thickens slightly.
  • Stir in 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese.
  • Season with salt and pepper.
  • The rest of the dish: Preheat oven to 425 degrees and spray some oil on  a 9 by 13-inch baking dish.
  • In medium bowl combine the ricotta cheese and the egg. Season with the salt and pepper.
  • Spread 1/4 of the sauce over the bottom of the baking dish. Layer 1/3 of the cooked pasta over the sauce.
  •  Drop half of the ricotta mixture over the pasta and sprinkle with 1/3 of the mozzarella then ladle 1/4 of sauce on top of the grated cheese and sprinkle about 1/3 of of the basil leaves on top.
  • Repeat layering with another 1/3 of the pasta, the remaining ricotta mixture, 1/3 of the mozzarella, 1/4 of sauce, and a bit more of the basil  and the remaining pasta. Ladle remaining sauce.
  • Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella, the rest of the basil  and the rest of the Parmesan.
  • Cover the dish and bake until heated through - about 45 minutes. Remove the cover in the last 15 minutes so the cheese will get brown.

Vegetarian.

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