Butter and Sugar

DSC_2893, originally uploaded by jasonrr.

Back to my regularly scheduled zucchini programming. I was inspired by a post I saw over on A Good Appetite where slices of zucchini replaced noodles in a lasagna. I decided to go a vegetarian route and incorporate an eggplant that I had on hand and ricotta cheese. I didn’t cook the zucchini prior to baking, but I did lightly grill the eggplant. Although I AWAYS have canned tomatoes on hand, when I went to take a can out there was none to be had. I did have fresh tomatoes, garlic and some vegetable juice thus a sauce was born.

This tasted great, and we really didn’t miss the noodles. The zucchini did release quit a bit of water as it baked but it didn’t affect anything after it was served.
The bread pictured is from Bread Alone in upstate NY. We just love their stuff, especially the while grain baguettes. Perfect for garlic bread!

For the sauce:
1 onion
2 pints cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 chopped red or green pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cups of vegetable juice
3 tbsp fresh basil
1 tbsp fresh parsley

Sautee the onion in olive oil. When translucent add tomatoes and peppers add garlic and cook for another minute. Add vegetable juice and ground pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes and taste for salt. Add the fresh basil and parsley just before using.

For the lasagna:
I alternated layers of raw zucchini, grilled eggplant, sauce and ricotta (to this I added 1 egg, chopped basil, 1tsp garlic powder and salt and pepper) and topped it with a fresh sliced tomato. I basked this for about 1 hour 15 minutes until it was bubbly and the top was slightly browned.