Roasted Veggie Lasagna (meatless and gluten-free)

Oh my. This dish had us fighting over leftovers- even my 9, 6, 3 and 1 year old munchkins were clamoring over my plate for the last bite!
I got an eggplant in my produce basket and a zucchini from my neighbor this week. I do pretty well with either- never at a shortage for zucchini love, but eggplant can be tricky to get kids to eat more than a bite of. It was a rainy evening and this mama needed some comfort food, but as there isn't much pasta to be found in my house these days, and ricotta is almost never in my fridge, so a traditional lasagna was out of the question.
Here is what I came up with. It's time-consuming and a little complicated, but so worth it! You could probably very deliciously substitute extra zucchini if you lack an eggplant. I'm all for wingin' it!

Roasted Veggie Lasagna

Sauce:
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 white or yellow onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 large carrot or 5-6 baby carrots, diced or grated
1/2 red pepper, seeded and diced
2-3 large white mushrooms, diced
3-4 large cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley
Sea salt and black pepper according to preference
1 4 oz can tomato paste
1 cup water
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
2 tbsp neufchatel cheese (or cream cheese)


Heat oil over medium heat in medium large pot. Add onion, celery, carrots, red pepper, mushrooms and garlic. Saute over medium heat until onions start to soften. Turn heat to low, add herbs and salt and pepper. Cover and let simmer until carrots and celery are soft (about 10-15 minutes). Add tomato paste, water, tomato sauce and cream cheese. Combine well, allow to simmer over low heat for 5-10 minutes. Add salt and pepper according to taste. (You could add a big handful or fresh chopped spinach to this- I meant to and forgot, but it would be delicious.)

While your sauce ingredients soften and simmer, you can get to work on your "noodles".

Noodles:
1 large eggplant
1 large or 2 med/small zucchini
Olive oil cooking spray
Sea salt and pepper

Wash zucchini and eggplant well and slice lengthwise in 1/4 inch slices. I used a hot cast iron pan for this "roasting" part, but a grill or grill pan would work well too.
Spray pan lightly with olive oil and heat to medium high heat. Salt and pepper your eggplant and zucchini and lay them out in a flat layer on the pan and cook until browned on either side and softened (as many as will fit- you'll have to rotate them through as they finish cooking until you get them all done). Set aside on a plate as you get them finished.

Creamy part:
No lasagna is complete without the creamy part. I didn't have ricotta or cottage cheese on hand- you could use these if you do happen to have them.
1-1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 large eggs
2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp sea salt
black pepper
Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

Time to bring it together:
You'll need about 3 cups of shredded low-moisture mozzarella cheese to glue this baby together. Oh- and a little extra Parmesan too.

Preheat oven to *400˚F. Spray a 9x13 casserole dish lightly with cooking spray. Spread a few spoonfuls of sauce on the bottom of the pan and lay out a layer of eggplant. Cover with creamy mixture, then red sauce (be generous), then mozzarella. Follow this up with zucchini- lay it out so that the 'noodles' touch and cover the entire surface. Then add creamy stuff, sauce, cheese and more eggplant. Creamy stuff, sauce, cheese, etc. alternating zucchini and eggplant layers until you run out of components or pan space. be sure to finish the top with sauce and cheese. Sprinkle top generously with some extra Parmesan. Bake at 400˚ for 30-35 minutes- until cheese is browned, lasagna is set and sauce is bubbly. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Meatless yet filling, gluten-free yet comforting.

Love on a plate.


*I started this for about 20 minutes at 375 and then bumped it up to 400. But I think 400 the entire time would work great.

Whole Wheat and Veggie Mini Calzones

These were a hit with the kids. My nephews tend to be picky about their veg, so hiding it in a "pizza pocket" let them munch happily and be well nourished as well. You could leave out the mozzarella to make it vegan.
The crust is the same as my whole wheat pizza crust but I give it a little less rising time to keep the pockets compact and contained.

Whole Wheat and Veggie Mini Calzones

Crust:

1 cup warm water
2 tbsp agave or honey
1-2 tbsp active yeast
1 tsp realsalt or sea salt
2 tbsp olive oil
approx 2 cups whole wheat flour

Place warm water in a mixing bowl and dissolve the agave or honey in it. Sprinkle in the yeast and let sit for 10 minutes until foamy. Add the salt, and oil and gradually mix in the flour until a soft dough forms. All the flour may not be mixed in yet. Dump it all out on a clean surface and mix in the rest of the flour by hand, kneading well for about 5-10 minutes. Should be slightly firm and not sticky. Lightly oil a clean glass bowl and set the dough in, rolling to coat lightly with oil. Cover and set in a warm place for about 30 minutes. Dough shouldn't quite be double in size.
Divide into 6-8 balls.

Sauce:
1 small can tomato sauce (if you like a slightly thicker sauce, toss a can of diced tomatoes in the blender and pulse a bit instead)
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

Topping possibilities:
shredded mozzarella
Chopped fresh spinach
diced red, yellow or green peppers
corn kernels
grated carrot
diced red onion
chopped mushrooms
sliced olives
(For tonight's dinner I used sauce, cheese, spinach, red pepper and grated carrot for the kids, and added red onion for the adults.)

Putting it all together:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Take one of your dough balls and roll it out into a circle. stretch it with your hands as well and get it nice and thin. Place a fairly generous amount of sauce in the middle and spread it around, making sure to leave about an inch of edge clean. Place cheese on half of the sauce. Add your toppings to that half in layers, then top them with more cheese. Fold your sauce-only half over the topped half and pinch the clean edges to seal. Gently slice a couple little cuts in the top to let air escape during baking. Place on a baking sheet prepared with cooking spray and a light sprinkling of cornmeal. Repeat until all are done. Place in oven and let bake for 20 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly. Serve with a colorful green salad and enjoy!

Balsamic Garden Pasta

Once upon a time I created a chicken pasta that swiftly became my husband's favorite. He requested it last night, but I have an aversion to chicken lately and with our current 90% vegan lifestyle, the chick doesn't fly. And so, an adaptation.

Balsamic Garden Pasta

approx. 14 oz whole grain spaghetti or other whole grain pasta
1/2- 1 cup plus 2 tbsp olive oil
approx 2 cups grated carrots
1 large clove fresh minced garlic
approx 3/4 cup finely diced red pepper
1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms (about 8 baby bellas)
approx 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
approx 2-3 cups fresh spinach, chopped
3 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
about 1/2- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
sea salt
garlic powder
dried basil

Cook pasta according to package directions. Toss with a little olive oil and set aside.
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet or pot.
Saute garlic, carrots, peppers, mushrooms and corn, on medium heat for a few minutes, adding more oil as needed.
Add cooked noodles to skillet along with balsamic, more oil, spices, tomato and spinach.
Toss everything together over medium low heat until spinach is wilted.
Serve warm on it's own or with garlic bread.
Enjoy!

My husband liked this just as well as the original chicken pasta.