A Little Ninja of an Herb – Oregano (Recipe)

The benefits of Oregano – You might be wondering why we are highlighting such a common herb. Don’t be fooled. This little ninja of an herb is so much more than meets the eye.

Oregano comes into the forefront especially this time of year as we delve into spring. Catch a cold? It’s got your back. Flu? Yep, still takes care of business. Candida yeast overgrowth? Look no further. Oregano is anti-microbial, anti-viral and anti-fungal, so it’s pretty much the panacea to what ails you.

What’s more? Ounce for ounce Oregano is an antioxidant rock star! One tablespoon of this fresh herb packs the same antioxidant punch as a medium-sized apple!

The most potent form of this herb is in an extract of the oil. A few drops under the tongue a few times a day (caution: this will burn, must-have-water-present) will pretty much kick the booty of any pathogen that’s bringing you down… and the side effect? A marinara-esque aftertaste, which, compared to other pungent remedies is downright delightful.

You can also include the fresh herb into your daily diet to help boost immunity and just as an overall healthy adjunct to daily nutrition…the Italians were onto something! For some reason, lasagna always comes to mind when I think of oregano and my own mother, perhaps because my mom had all of 3 recipes that she used and lasagna was one of them, and definitely the best.

Add fresh oregano into your standard lasagna recipe, see below. You can also sprinkle oregano onto sweet potato fries, chop into salads or make a healthful and delicious tea: Steep 3 fresh teaspoons of fresh oregano in a cup of boiling water and add lemon and honey to taste.

Mama Made Vegetarian Lasagna

Print Recipe

Sauce: Sauté vegetables in a big pan until translucent add tomatoes and then mix in mushrooms. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes. Then taste to see if any adjustments are needed e.g. if too acidic add more coconut sugar, and continue to cook for 15-20 mins. In a bowl mix all Ricotta filling ingredients. Assembling the Lasagna: Ladle out about 1/3 of the tomato sauce into a large casserole dish. On top of the tomato sauce, place a layer of the uncooked noodles. Spread on enough of the ricotta filling to completely cover the noodles. Repeat the entire layering process (sauce, noodles, ricotta) until you come to the top of your pan. Cover the top with the grated mozzarella and nutritional yeast. Cover the dish with foil and place in an oven preheated to 375 degrees. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for another 10 minutes, until the mozzarella begins to brown. You might need to kick up the oven temp to 400 degrees if the cheese is just melting and not browning.Remove from oven and allow cooling for at least 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy your food!

Servings	Prep Time
4-6 people	20 minutes

Cook Time	Passive Time
90-100 minutes	15 minutes

Servings Prep Time 4-6 people 20 minutes

Cook Time Passive Time 90-100 minutes 15 minutes

Mama Made Vegetarian Lasagna Print Recipe Sauce: Sauté vegetables in a big pan until translucent add tomatoes and then mix in mushrooms. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes. Then taste to see if any adjustments are needed e.g. if too acidic add more coconut sugar, and continue to cook for 15-20 mins. In a bowl mix all Ricotta filling ingredients. Assembling the Lasagna: Ladle out about 1/3 of the tomato sauce into a large casserole dish. On top of the tomato sauce, place a layer of the uncooked noodles. Spread on enough of the ricotta filling to completely cover the noodles. Repeat the entire layering process (sauce, noodles, ricotta) until you come to the top of your pan. Cover the top with the grated mozzarella and nutritional yeast. Cover the dish with foil and place in an oven preheated to 375 degrees. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for another 10 minutes, until the mozzarella begins to brown. You might need to kick up the oven temp to 400 degrees if the cheese is just melting and not browning.Remove from oven and allow cooling for at least 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy your food! Servings Prep Time 4-6 people 20 minutes Cook Time Passive Time 90-100 minutes 15 minutes Servings Prep Time 4-6 people 20 minutes Cook Time Passive Time 90-100 minutes 15 minutes

Ingredients

Tomato Sauce (use organic when you can)

• 1 medium onion Finely chopped.
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 medium zucchini Diced.
• 1 medium bell pepper Diced (green are always the least expensive, but red, yellow or orange work better).
• 2 28 oz cans diced tomato
• 1 14 oz can tomato puree
• 2 cup mushroom Diced
• 4 tbsp fresh basil If you don't have fresh basil use 4 tbs dried basil.
• 4 tbsp fresh oregano If you don't have fresh oregano use 4 tbs dried oregano.
• 1/3 cup coconut sugar Second alternative brown sugar
• 1/4 cup red wine Or you can use balsamic vinegar.
• pinch sea salt & ground black pepper Or to taste.

Ricotta filling

• 32oz ricotta cheese To make this vegan, use medium tofu, strained and mashed with a fork until it resembles ricotta. Add nutritional yeast and season to taste.
• 1 egg Vegans can skip this step.
• 4oz grated parmesan Or vegan equivalent.

Pasta

• 1 package ready to bake lasagna noodles Depending on how deep your lasagna pan is, you might use half the box, you might use the whole thing.

Topping

• 4oz grated mozzarella Vegans - white rice “cheese” works as a great substitute and or nutritional yeast.

Servings: people

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Image Credit: Benedicte Lechrist