This vegetarian recipe incorporates vegetables in a way that provides enough liquid to cook the noodles during baking.
For the sauce: Rinse and dice 2 leeks and saute in 2 T. olive oil until tender. Add 2 C. sliced portabello, shitake or other meaty mushroom along with salt, black pepper, and 1/8 t. red pepper flakes. When the mushrooms soften, add 3 minced cloves of garlic, 1 t. dried basil and 1/2 t. dried thyme and cook until the garlic is soft.
Add one 28 oz. can of good quality tomatoes, chopped, plus their liquid. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook for at least 1/2 hour. Add more. salt or spices to taste.
For the lasagne: Preheat the oven to 350.
Peel the stems of 1 large or 2 smaller heads of broccoli. Chop the stems and florets finely.
Soak 4 C. spinach in water and drain. Repeat until the water is clear. Spin dry.
Toss the spinach and broccoli with 1 pint of Ricotta cheese. Add the zest of 1 lemon and season generously with salt and pepper to taste.
In a 9 x 13 baking dish, make a thin layer of sauce on the bottom. Add 1 layer of Lasagne noodles (uncooked), overlapping the noodles slightly. Make another layer of sauce, then a thick layer of the ricotta mixture. Repeat. Finally, make one more layer of noodles topped by a thin layer of sauce and finally top with 1 1/2 C. mozzarella cheese or more.
Cover the baking dish tightly with foil, then bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the top is nicely browned and bubbling.