Vegetarian Lasagna (Or Not)….

A new dish for the Italian Vegaterians out there! Well…that may be quite the oxymoron….my Carnivorous Part-Italian-Self can’t help but add chicken or fish to mine, BUT…in and of itself this is a Clean, Lean and Mean Vegetarian dish!

Vegetarian Lasagna (Or Not)

The Garden

Eggplant

Zucchini

Yellow Squash

Mushrooms

Spinach

Red Bell Pepper

Tomato (Puree)

Onion

Garlic

Basil (Fresh big leaves)

The Spice Rack

Oregano

Salt

Pepper

White Pepper

The Layers

The vegetables will act the part of lasagna noodles. Slice the Eggplant, Zucchini and Yellow Squash all lengthwise approximately 1/8th of an inch thick. To add another dimension of flavor, season the slices with olive oil, coarse salt, pepper and grill.

While the veggie layers are grillin’, chop the onion, dice the garlic and saute them in olive oil. Once the onion and garlic begin to sweat and become translucent, add the tomato puree, oregano, coarse salt and white pepper.

The Layers

The base layer (and stabilizing part of layers) will be the Eggplant. Building up from there, layer the zucchini, yellow squash, spinach, mushrooms and a portion of the tomato puree mixture. Then repeat – Eggplant, zucchini, etc. The final (top) layer will be Eggplant.

The Heat

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees and baked for 45 min.

The Options

To turn this into a carnivorous dish, add grilled chicken or fish to the layer mixture.

And….If you’re of the dairy eating kind….dust in some Reggiano Parmesan between layers and on top.

Like any Italian dish, the leftovers only get better!! Mangia, Mangia!!