Grilled Garden Vegetable Lasagna with Puttanesca Sauce from Crossroads by Tal Ronnen

The very first business cards I ever printed for Bake and Destroy had the tagline “Recipes for the Stupid and Lazy” on them. This was really a shot at myself, as I am basically girl-Beavis and I am incredibly, incredibly lazy. But, my grandpa thought my audience would think I was calling them names, so I changed over to “Good Food for Bad Vegans” in later iterations.

The reason I’m telling you this is because this recipe is absolutely 100% not for the stupid or lazy. Well, I suppose you could be pretty stupid, because it’s quite specific, but not too stupid to hold a knife or use the stove. This non-lazy dish is one you’ll make with love – on a Sunday, or for a special occasion.

To make this recipe, you’re going to need a couple of other recipes:

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation.

Grilled Garden Vegetable Lasagna with Puttanesca Sauce

By BakeandDestroy Published: October 12, 2015

Yield: 8-12 Servings

Please see links above for certain ingredients mentioned in this recipe. From the author: Zucchini can be watery and lacking in flavor or texture, so when Scot proposed putting a vegetable lasagna that featured zucchini on the menu, I was skeptical. But the flavors he builds into this lasagna are extraordinary. It’s an Italian flag on a plate—green pesto, white almond ricotta, and rich red puttanesca sauce. The grilled eggplant, roasted red bell peppers, and zucchini that intermingle with the pasta layers cut down on carbs and calories and add nutrition.

Ingredients

4 red or yellow bell peppe about 3/4 lbs
4 large zucchini (1 1/2 pounds), sliced on a diagonal about 1/4 inch thick
1 large Italian eggplant (about 1 pound), sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
1 large onion (about 1/2 pound), sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more for coating pan
6 large fresh basil leaves chopped
3 fresh thyme sprigs leaves stripped from the stems and chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 shallot minced
Puttanesca Sauce recipe linked above
Herb Ricotta recipe linked above
2 cups Vegan Basil Pesto recipe linked above
1 lb lasagna noodles cooked in boiling salted water just until al dente, drained, and rinsed
10 oz soy mozzarella preferably Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet, shredded (4 cups)

Instructions

Put each pepper directly on a gas burner over high heat and char, turning periodically with tongs, until the skin is wrinkled and blistered on all sides, about 10 minutes. Alternatively, you can roast the peppers using a broiler, turning them occasionally. Put the peppers into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let them steam for about 10 minutes to loosen the skins.
Pull out the cores of the peppers and remove the seeds. Pull off and discard the blackened skin. Dip your fingers in water as you work to keep the charred bits from sticking. Cut the roasted peppers into ½-inch-wide strips and put in a large mixing bowl, along with any juices that have collected. Add the sliced zucchini, eggplant, and onion, tossing to combine.
Combine the oil, basil, thyme, garlic, and shallot in a small bowl or measuring cup, season with salt and pepper, and whisk to blend. Pour the marinade over the vegetables, tossing to coat evenly. Set aside for 10 minutes so the vegetables can soak up the flavor.
Preheat an outdoor grill and coat with oil, or coat a grill pan with oil and put over medium-high heat. Alternatively, preheat the broiler.
Arrange the peppers, zucchini, eggplant, and onion on the grill or grill pan (if using a grill pan, you will have to do this in batches) and grill, turning the vegetables once, until they are tender and lightly browned and have released most of their moisture, about 5 minutes per side. Or, if using the broiler, arrange the vegetables in a single layer on two nonstick baking sheets and broil in 2 batches. Set the vegetables aside.
Mix together the herb ricotta and 1 cup of the basil pesto in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Once you have the sauce ready, the vegetables grilled, and the filling made, you can start assembling the lasagna. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Ladle about 1 cup of the sauce into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, to just cover the bottom. Slightly overlap 6 lasagna noodles crosswise so they completely cover the bottom of the dish, with no gaps. Top the noodles with one-third of the ricotta-pesto mixture, spreading it evenly with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle 1 cup of the soy mozzarella over the ricotta. Shingle one-third of the roasted peppers, zucchini, eggplant, and onion in an even layer on top. Repeat the process, layering sauce, lasagna noodles, ricotta-pesto, soy mozzarella, and vegetables 2 more times. Finally, top with the remaining 6 lasagna noodles and sauce.
Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until bubbly. Remove the foil and top the lasagna with the remaining 1 cup soy mozzarella. Bake for another 5 minutes, or until the cheese has melted. Allow the lasagna to cool for 10 minutes before cutting into 8 squares.
To serve: Divide the remaining 1 cup pesto among eight to twelve plates, spreading it out with the back of a spoon. Set a lasagna square on top.

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