Grilled Veggie Lasagne

There is a farmers market that I just love around here and I have been going every Sunday.

There are great vendors with amazing produce that I just can't resist.

So after coming home with more veggies than I knew what to do with, I decided to put them together into a lasagna.

Now, I'm not the biggest lasagna fan, but I thought I'd give it a try and see how it turned out.

Well, needless to say since I'm writing about it, it was some seriously good eats.

I grilled my zucchini, asparagus and eggplant on my indoor All-Clad grill pan with olive oil, salt and pepper to a crispy, tasty perfection.
I had made some marinara sauce with a ton of fresh tomatoes from my dad's garden. I am so lucky my dad has a green thumb because every summer we get so much freshness coming out of his garden it's almost not fair! I love love love his tomatoes. They are simply divine.

So I ground up tomatoes in the food processor and added them to the onions and garlic and oregano I sauteed in my saucepan and let it simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour and the result was an absolutely delectable marinara sauce. So fresh tasting, it was so good!
Then, I have a little trick I like to use in most of my vegetarian dishes. I take cremini mushrooms and grind them in the food processor to a coarse chop and saute with garlic and onions and a touch of allspice. This gives my dish a meaty texture without the meat and adds another layer of flavor besides just the veggies. It's so good, you should try it.
I also added some sun dried tomatoes between each layer for some texture and sweetness. I love sun dried tomatoes. It's no joke, they are one of my favorite things.

I used the 'no boil' pasta noodles which always turn out perfect. You just have to make sure you have enough sauce so that they can cook all the way through.

This recipe is one that I don't really think you need too many measurements for. You can use any veggies you like in this. Anything goes, really. It's a great, versatile dish that is super easy and you can make it ahead and just bake it off when you're ready to eat.

I promise, cooking isn't that hard. You just need a little time and inspiration to make a healthy and delicious meal for you and your family.

Okay, here goes my attempt at some measurements for you.

For the marinara sauce:

If using fresh tomatoes, I used about 7-10.

If using canned tomatoes (which is what I normally use),

1 can tomato sauce

1 can diced tomatoes

1 medium onion, chopped

4-5 cloves garlic, diced (I love garlic, so you can use less if you like)

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 handful fresh chopped basil leaves, added at the end

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

Saute the onions with some salt in olive oil until translucent, about 4-5 minutes on medium heat. Add the garlic and oregano and saute another 3-4 minutes. Add the cans of tomatoes and then fill the can of tomato sauce up halfway with water to get the excess sauce out and add to the saucepot. Add some more salt and pepper and simmer for as long as you have. I do about an hour. Then I take a hand emersion blender and blend all the ingredients together to make a smooth sauce. You don't have to do this step, but I prefer smooth sauces as opposed to chunky.

Taste it along the way so you make sure the seasoning is on.

For the veggies:

2-3 medium zucchini

2-3 medium japanese eggplant

1 bunch asparagus

Grill your veggies indoors or out. If you want to make it even easier, you can roast them on a baking sheet on some non stick foil in the oven on super high (like 450-500) with salt, pepper and olive oil until a little charred, about 10-15 minutes.

For the mushrooms:

1 pound cremini mushrooms, chopped

2-3 tblspn olive oil

1/2 tspn allspice

1 small onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

salt and pepper

Saute all the ingredients in olive oil on medium heat until most of the moisture evaporates out of the mushrooms.

Get your sun dried tomatoes chopped and ready.

Make an assembly line with all your prepared ingredients and start putting the lasagna together.

I start with some sauce on the bottom of my baking dish so the noodles don't stick and then lay down four pieces of the noodles.

I put 1/2 of the mushroom mixture, 1/2 sun dried tomatoes, all the zucchini and 1/2 of the asparagus. I ladle on marinara sauce on top of it all (like 2-3 good ladles) and add a sprinkling of mozzarella and parmesan cheese on the first layer.

Next layer, four more noodles, the rest of the mushroom mixture, the rest of the sun dried tomatoes, all the eggplant, and the rest of the asparagus. Add more sauce and a sprinkling of mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

Cover it all up with four more noodles and the rest of the marinara sauce. Top off with more mozzarelly and parmy and you're ready for the oven.

Bake covered with foil for about 20-25 minutes on 400, then uncover for another 5 minutes and stick it under the broiler so the cheese can get all ooey gooey and delicious.

Enjoy!

Sidenote: If anyone tries this and follows my directions, please leave a comment and let me know how amazingly right on (or off) my measurements are.