It drives me crazy when you’re looking for dinner ideas on the interwebs and you see something that looks good and then it turns into this… It all started one summer day when I was at the farmers market and I saw the most amazing free range, organic heirloom tomato, blah blah blah so on and so forth. Five page later your not sure if you are reading a novel or a recipe.
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. To start with I’m not a chef or a dietitian but I am very passionate about cooking and putting a healthy meal on the table for my family. With that being said taste as you go and if you think it needs a little more of one thing and a little less of another feel free to get creative. This dish is well suited to adding and omitting veggies that you have on hand. For instance I had a half bag of frozen cubed butternut squash hanging out in the freezer, so in it went.
Roasted Eggplant and Veggie “Lasagna“
2 large or 4 small eggplants
3 yellow squash, 3 zucchini, 2 medium red onions.
1tbs olive oil
2 cans 16oz tomato pulp, preferably something that is already seasoned with garlic and basil (Crushed tomatoes can also work.)
1 can fire roasted tomatoes, drain off the liquid
5 cloves of garlic minced
2tbs garlic powder
2tbs italian seasoning
1 tbs fennel seeds
1/2 bag of frozen butternut squash
1 brick of frozen spinach
9z* of whole wheat pasta in your favorite shape. * dry measurement, before cooking
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup almonds
optional items
1/2 cup of goat cheese
1/4 fresh shredded Parmesan cheese
step one. With a paring knife prick the skin on the eggplants a few times and place on a baking sheet in the oven at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes depending on size. you are looking for them to have a tight skin but soft and tender on the inside. You can step up your game on this and cook them on your grill, just set them on the grate away from indirect heat. transfer to a large mixing bowl and cover with a plate or film wrap and allow to steam until cool.
step two. dice your yellow squash, zucchini and slice the onions into bite sized pieces. over a medium high heat add the olive oil and the veggies and saute the veggies for 7-10 minutes or until tender and lightly browned, keep the veggies moving pretty consistently. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute. lower the heat to medium low and add the two cans of tomato pulp, 1 can of diced tomatoes, (liquid drained off) frozen spinach and the butternut squash. cook on the stove top for at least ten minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken. Once cooled take the skin off of your eggplants and transfer the “meat” to the sauce. Add the Italian seasoning, garlic powder and fennel seeds and cook for a few more minutes.
While the sauce is cooking bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta to about 75% fully cooked and drain off the liquid. I’ve used penne, cavatapi and rustichine aka mini lasagna noodles in past iterations of this dish and they have all come out great.
assembly. In a 13×9 oven proof casserole add a few spoonfuls of the veggie mixture. top that with half of your cooked pasta. If your cool with dairy this is where I would sprinkle on the goat cheese, vegan cheese is cool here as well if you wish. The next layers are as follows, Tomato veggie mixture, pasta, and then the remaining tomato veggie mixture. From here you can transfer directly to the oven and bake or for better results let it hang out for a couple of hours or overnight to let all the flavors enhance.
Before baking take the 1/2 cup of almonds and crush them, you can use a food processor for this but I prefer the hammer method. Put the almonds in a bag wrap it in a towel and go to town releasing some of the days pent up aggression. Mix the crushed almonds and panko together in a bowl.
Place in the center of a preheated 375 degree oven and bake until bubbling and heated through. cooking time will vary on the initial starting temp of your lasagna but should be anywhere from 20-40 minutes to cook through. Half way through the cooking process sprinkle over the panko and almond mixture. In the last few minutes of baking you can add the shredded Parmesan cheese and give it enough time to melt. For best plate presentation allow to sit out for about 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Ideally this would be served with some kind of spring mix or kale salad with lots of fruits, veggies, seeds and nuts for added flavor and texture.
Is this veggie lasagna as good as Nona Maria’s classic meat and cheese laden lasagna? I think they are pretty close, but one things for certain you cold eat 2-3 times the potion size and probably still come out ahead when it comes to calories consumed.
Subjects to change 