Eggplant and Spinach Vegetarian Lasagna

Prepare Eggplant and Mushrooms

Slice two large Portobello mushrooms into 1/4" to 1/2" strips, and cut each strip in half. Slice medium sized eggplant radially into thin 1/4 inch circles, you should have about 16 circular slices or so.

You'll need to sauté the eggplant in two batches. Per batch, heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a fry pan over medium heat. Add one clove of crushed garlic to the olive oil and stir, spread evenly. Add the thinly sliced eggplant circles, place as many eggplant slices as you can  to cover the cooking surface area, no overlap. Cover and sauté one side about 5 minutes, turn each eggplant slice over, and cook covered another 3 minutes or so, until each eggplant slice is tender and slightly browned (a touch of crisp caramelization is good). Finish cooking all the eggplant slices (two batches) and set aside.

Heat a little more olive oil in the fry pan and add the Portobello mushroom slices. Cover and sauté the mushrooms 2 to 3 minutes or so each side, until tender and set aside.

Prepare Lasagna in a Casserole Baking Dish

Cover the bottom of a 9 by 12 inch casserole dish with a layer of marinara sauce. Place a layer of 3 to 4 uncooked lasagna noodles over the bottom layer of marinara sauce. Cover the first layer of lasagna noodles with a layer of marinara sauce. Cover this layer with the cooked eggplant, use all of the eggplant. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of Kosher sault (or less) evenly over the egplant. Add another thin layer of marinara sauce over the eggplant.

Place another layer of lasagna noodles and cover the noodles with a thin layer of marinara sauce. Place a layer of the portobello mushrooms, use all of the mushrooms. And add all of the fresh spinach over the mushrooms. Place a thin layer of marinara sauce over the spinach, and arrange a top layer of lasagna noodles over the top.

Cover the top layer of noodles with the remaining marinara sauce. Place the sprigs of fresh basil over the top.

Pre-heat oven. Cover the casserole baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes at 375º F. Lasagna noodles are finished cooking when you can easily pierce with a fork. Marinara sauce should be slightly bubbling when finished.