I know it's winter, believe me we're still recovering from The Blizzard of 2011, and now it's freezing out but I've had a craving for zucchini, maybe it's because I'm longing for warm weather again but until those days arrive Whole Foods happened to have some beautiful organic zucchini that was on sale the other day, so I guess this lasagne was meant to be!
I have a little problem though, I always buy entirely too much produce for just two people to consume so I'm always on the lookout for ways to use it all up and in this case Zucchini Lasagne solved my problem!
This lasagne is filled with zucchini, layers of ricotta, mozzarella, romano and parmesan cheese, a generous dose of roasted garlic bechamel and a simple basil marinara, a nice piece of this with a wonderful Italian salad will satisfy all your senses!I sliced all my zucchini about 1/4 of an inch thick then salt and peppered both sides and sauteed each piece in a little bit of olive oil to acquire a nice golden color.
Lasagne is all about the layering, as far as I'm concerned, the deeper the pan the better! I was able to get four nice layers from mine, the key is to let your lasagne rest for about 30 minutes before you cut into it to insure the perfect slice.
I'm normally not a fan of the no boil pasta noodles but I had a box of Barilla so I though I'd give it another try, this time I soaked my noodles in warm water and that seemed to make a big difference, I think I saw Lydia doing that on her cooking show once, so between the soaking and saucing up of the noodles really good, (dare I say) we couldn't tell the difference! I may just be a semi-convert now!
I alternated between the marinara and the bechamel sauce spooning some onto each layer, into my basic bechamel consisting of butter, flour and milk I squeezed a bit of roasted garlic and a nice handful of parmesan cheese. After spraying my baking dish with olive oil the layers went like this;
Lasagne is all about the layering, as far as I'm concerned, the deeper the pan the better! I was able to get four nice layers from mine, the key is to let your lasagne rest for about 30 minutes before you cut into it to insure the perfect slice. I'm normally not a fan of the no boil pasta noodles but I had a box of Barilla so I though I'd give it another try, this time I soaked my noodles in warm water and that seemed to make a big difference, I think I saw Lydia doing that on her cooking show once, so between the soaking and saucing up of the noodles really good, (dare I say) we couldn't tell the difference! I may just be a semi-convert now! I alternated between the marinara and the bechamel sauce spooning some onto each layer, into my basic bechamel consisting of butter, flour and milk I squeezed a bit of roasted garlic and a nice handful of parmesan cheese. After spraying my baking dish with olive oil the layers went like this;Pasta noodles
Bechamel
Ricotta cheese mixture ( ricotta, basil, egg and romano cheese)
Fresh and shredded mozzarella cheese
Fresh and shredded mozzarella cheese
Grated romano or parmesan cheese
Marinara sauce
Zucchini slices
Repeat!
Repeat!
End with pasta on top and a generous amount of marinara to cover. P.S. If you're carb conscious just eliminate the pasta all together!
Bake in a 375F oven uncovered for around 45 minutes. Don't forget to let it stand for a while before you cut into it!Buon Appetito!
35 comments:
Nothing screams comfort food like this meal. Delicious!
I'm glad you survived the blizzard. I've been reading the blogs and FB statuses of the Chicago bloggers and talking to my relatives out that way and it sounded absolutely horrible. I know you're not having as abad a winter overall as we're having in NY, but it sounds like you got snowed under so quickly and badly in a way we haven't been blasted. Hope you are well plowed and mobile today!
When I first saw this I was wondering if you were going to be using zucchini ribbons in place of the noodles as some of the carb-conscious do. I admire anyone willing to do that amount of work! I don't think the no-boil noodles are such a bad thing. I just tend to nibble them when I have them because they're soft. Yes, that's kind of gross and I confess to it!
You know, if you're looking to get rid of some of this nice food you make too much of, I will be in Chicago next week, and would be happy to back the (refrigerated) truck up to your place.
Just a thought.
TSDC,You can easily eliminate the pasta, in fact I went back and put it on my post, but then you wouldn't be able to nibble on the pasta.
Mister Meatball, good luck if you can back a truck in my driveway right now, I can't even get my car out of the garage yet, but since I'm snowed in there's plenty of food for you!
I ogten think about you guys who have to dig through heaps of snow just to get out....Stay strong and the lasagna looks so divine!
I always by too much for just the two of us this is a perfect way to use it up. At first I thought the zucchini replaced the lasagna noodles but I see there is pasta too. great dish
Hi my friend.. praying for a quick end to this snow storm your having, keep warm and safe!!
And about that lasagne..Yumm triple time!! I love the zucchini in it!!
If I had a sleigh with reindeer I would come to your house for some of this, Marie! Those zucchini look wonderful, and I like how you used both the bechamel and marinara sauces on each layer - yum! I like a deep lasagna, too. The more layers the merrier. I was thinking of you and this blizzard in Chi-Town. I heard schools there had the first "snow day" in 12 years. But the groundhog didn't see his shadow so maybe we will get an early spring. :)
Having TOO MUCH produce sounds like a pretty good problem to me! Especially if it means this lasagna is in your future. Yum.
Have certainly been thinking of you and my Chicago friends... and MO friends... and Oklahoma friends...I am with you on the produce. I buy too much and it ends up in soup. I love that while a blizzard raged, you were devising this beauty with summer zucchini!
My daughter lives in Chicago so I've been getting daily updates on the weather. I can't even imagine all that snow. It looks like you are eating well, Marie. This lasagna looks amazing! Good suggestion to soak the no bake noodles.
As I turn a year older I can attest to your wonderful ability to cook like no other. Thanks for feeding me outstanding meals for such a long, long, long time!! I selfishly look forward to many more years of reading and tasting your blog.
Love eggplant & lasagna so this is a win win dinner....
{{{HUGS}}}
Donna
Like Claudia, I usually end up putting the extras in soup, which is what I did tonight. But this, well this beat soup any day. By the way, looking at your page on my computer, your first photo is missing.
Ciao Chow is right...no first pictures of the zucchine lasagne. How could you deny me that?
Welcome to the winter wonderland of 2011. Isn't it pretty?
We have more coming Sat. night...I have muscles from shoveling.
yummy to zucchini lasagne. You know I love it.
xo
Gee I see the picture on my computer, we have a laptop and a PC, I see it on both, I hate technical issues!
@Wonder Why Guy, Thanks big T
xox
Perfect timing as the zucchini glut is starting here in the New Zealand summer. Confess my own plants have been hopeless but zucchini are cheap and plentiful to buy.
Sending warm and cosy huggles to you, Michelle
I can't wait for zucchini season now since I' m always searching for ways to use the overabundance.
I like the tip about soaking the no-boil noodles. There's some recipes where that would be useful to me. What a great lasagna!
I'm with wonder guy. I turn 32 this Monday, and have been following your blog for over a year. Your's is the best food blog I have found, and I always anticipate a new post. I was just laying in bed last night reading your very first posts on my iPhone. I had to smile a bit, seeing how far you had come.
This is damn sure getting made in my house soon! Looks amazing. I just have to give this rootbeer pulled pork a try today first..
I miss zucchini and hope that they have some at my Whole Foods so I can make this lasagna! I have a problem with overbuying produce. Soup is good for using it up but lasagna is even better!
Looks totally delicious! i love doing this with eggplant :) And of course LOTS of parmesan!
Zucchini lasagna is Italian comfort food made more healthy, Marie! I love using bechamel sauce in baked dishes..my Calabrian in-laws never cooked with it.
When I have extra produce I cook it and make fritttas with it, using a egg white mix :) It's one of our favorite quick and easy meals.
That looks amaaazing, excellent idea with the roasted garlic and cheese in the bechamel! Man this would be a serious flavour explosion!
I always buy way too much produce too! I'm forever looking for ways to use up broccoli, zucchini, eggplant... This is a great technique, and DBF LOVES lasagna.
HI! I am a friend of your daughter and just wanted to mention that I never would have used no boil pasta until I read your post about the Zucchini lasagna.
I was making lasagna last Friday and just did not have the time to spend boiling the noodles and doing all of that....so I ran to the store and bought a box of Barilla No Boil, used your trick of soaking them in warm water and I have to say, I was very happy with how it turned out! So thank you for that little tip!
What an amazing take on a lasagna!
I guess I don’t have to tell you how good this lasagna looks. And I’m sure you’ll tell us just how perfect it tasted. I’m a big fan of lasagna, but yours is way better than mine. So next time I’m making lasagna will be following your recipe, which is amazing. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Keri, I'm glad soaking the noodles worked out for you, I felt the same way, I was pretty happy with the results! It is a time saver I must admit.
soaking the noodles, regular not the no boil, for me did not work out so good, as i tried to drain on paper towels, etc, as the recipe called for, still they retained more water than i would have cared for in the final sauce product
i agree, yes, it is about layering, - the zucchini preparation is a good tip, thanks, i usually dice it fine and throw it in
Buck, I never soaked the regular noodles, I always boil them al dente, but soaking the "no boil" noodles worked out really good for me this time.
I've been craving lasagna lately. I like the idea of layering it with zucchini.
Thanks for sharing this great recipe! I love cooking with zucchini and it's great to have another tasty recipe to add to the repertoire.
I also run a food blog and will be featuring your recipe this afternoon.
Just found your blog, I was looking for a Tilapia Piccata recipe to match a meal I had at Club Lucky in Wicker Park last week. What a great resource! Keep up the great work!
Goodness gracious this looks delicious! I love the long slices of zucchini...beautiful!
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