Feta and Spinach Lasagna

Feta and Spinach Lasagna

I have a love affair with feta cheese.  Don’t get me wrong, I love all kinds of cheese, but there’s something about feta that gets me giddy.  It’s soft, it’s salty, it’s mild, it’s creamy-dreamy like butter . . . it makes everything I add it to so much better.  This lasagna is no exception.  I served this at a dinner party recently and everyone loved it.  Although it’s meatless, it is full of protein, and nutritional value from all the cheese, spinach and pasta.  I layer it with a white sauce made with fat-free half and half and Parmesan cheese.  More cheese?  Well I just couldn’t help myself.

A serving size is smaller than most lasagna servings, about a 3-inch square, since I stack it three layers deep and because it is pretty rich.  A 9 x 9-inch square pan should yield 9 servings.  The yummy sauce and cheese taste so creamy and buttery although there’s less fat than you think since I use fat-free half and half and reduced-fat feta cheese.  That saves a ton of calories right there.  (Each piece is less than 300 calories.  See nutritional information in recipe.)

I love the spinach sauteed with garlic and onions.  Fresh spinach is amazing-so vital and nutritious.  When eaten raw, an ounce or two fills your plate and tummy.  But when cooked, a large 10-ounce container (like you buy at the grocery store) of fresh spinach wilts down to under a cup.  This recipe calls for 20-ounces of fresh spinach, (that’s two of the large containers) which seems like a lot, but that will yield about a cup and a quarter of cooked spinach.  You could also use a 10-ounce package of frozen spinach leaves, thawed and squeezed to remove the water, in place of fresh.  This will yield about 1 1/2 cups which is close enough; no need to be exactly precise.  If you’re a feta cheese lover like I am, I know you’re going to love this recipe.

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