Sweet Potato Lasagna

Every year for my birthday, Mom always made whatever I wanted for dinner. For the majority of years it was either Lasagna or Stuffed Shells. Two of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE Italian dishes. I love ricotta cheese and the warm-ooey-gooey goodness of the classic baked dishes. So when I stumbled across this tub of ricotta in my fridge that was going to expire in but a week, I immediately had a craving for lasagna. Well, sorta. Since my transformation to grain-free, I really have little desire for pastas. But the ooey-gooey goodness... (from the cheeses, of course). I needed to come up with a way to make a "lasagna" without lasagna noodles. Then I turned around and spotted the bowl of yams I inherited from my brother who gave them up since he doesn't have an oven. Viola!

A few notes on this recipe. First, I am glad to note that this is my first "original" recipe; it was not inspired by someone else's version of a recipe. Of this, I am proud :) Second, I used home grown yams. However, since America seems to have a lot of trouble with the whole yam v. sweet potato thing (check out MDA's fabulous article on the topic), I am calling it a "Sweet Potato" Lasagna. Regardless, it ought to work with any of these tasty tubers. Third, I used part skim ricotta and mozzarella. Because that's what was in my fridge. You should be able to use any style you'd like. Bon Appetite!

Sweet Potato Lasagna

The Food
- 2-4 sweet potatoes or yams, depending on size
- 1 1/2 cups ricotta
- 6oz mozzarella cheese
- 1 egg
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon parsley flakes
Salt
Pepper
Cooking spray

The Prep
Preheat the oven to 350°
Spray a glass baking dish with cooking spray
Shred the mozzarella
Mandolin slice the sweet potatoes or yams
Mix the ricotta, 4oz of the shredded mozzarella (about 2/3 of it), egg, 1/2 the oregano and 1/2 the parsley; salt and pepper to taste.
Open the can of crushed tomatoes, add the rest of the oregano and parsley, and pepper to taste (unless you got a no-salt added variety, the sodium is already high enough. Do not salt.). Mix well.

The Method
Lightly coat the bottom of the dish with the tomatoes
Top the tomatoes with 1/3 of sliced sweet potatoes
Spread about 1/2 of the ricotta mixture on top of the sweet potatoes
Put about 1/2 of the remaining tomatoes on top of the cheese
Repeat the layering of sweet potatoes, then ricotta, then tomatoes
Top with remaining 1/3 of sweet potatoes
Spread the reserved 2 oz mozzarella on the top.
Cover with foil.
Bake for 45 minutes
Remove foil, bake 15  more minutes or so, until there isn't a lot of bubbling tomato juices

Enjoy :)
Oh, let it cool a little. It's crazy hot right out of the oven.


And be warned- this dish SMELLS AMAZING. amazinggggggg. No lie. Even when re-heated. Seriously. Enjoy :)