Grilled Garden Vegetable Lasagna With Puttanesca Sauce
Ingredients
2 cups Basil Pesto
1/4 cup olive oil
6 large fresh basil leaves, chopped
4 red or yellow bell peppers
4 large zucchini, sliced on a diagonal about 1/4-inch thick
3 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves stripped from the stems and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot, minced
1 large Italian eggplant, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds
1 large onion, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds
10 ounces soy mozzarella, shredded (optional)**
1 pound lasagna noodles, cooked al dente in boiling salted water, drained, and rinsed
Herb Ricotta Puttanesca Sauce (see below)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
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. Cut the roasted peppers into 1/2-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 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 to medium-high heat.
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. 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 9×13-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. Add 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.
Puttanesca Sauce
Ingredients
1⁄4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 shallots finely chopped
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1⁄4 cup white wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
8 cups **Marinara Sauce**
1 cup pitted olives, roughly chopped
1⁄2 cup capers drained
8 fresh basil leaves chopped
Salt and pepper
Directions
In a medium pot on medium heat, add olive oil, garlic, shallots and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring until the shallots are translucent, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Pour in the wine and stir for 1 to 2 minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste and marinara sauce then bring to a simmer.
Reduce the heat to low and add olives, capers and basil.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Then gently simmer, stirring occasionally until the sauce has thickened slightly, about 30 minutes.