Sauceless Garden Lasagna

Do you have an abundance of garden vegetables?  Are you looking for a light and healthy vegetarian meal?  If so, this recipe is the one for you.

Sadly, Chris (the carnivorous "each meal must have at least some meat" hubby), isn't a huge fan of this meal because 1) it's vegetarian and 2) it has feta cheese.  This means that 1) I don't get to make it often and 2) I have to make his half special and omit the feta.  But if I were you, I would make it more than just when you have an overflowing garden and I definitely would not skip the feta!  The feta is what helps hold this lasagna together.

See, the beauty of this lasagna is that it's different from your traditional meat and/or veggie tomato based lasagna and from your heavy cream sauce lasagna.  All you do is layer everything together and the juices of the veggies along with a tad bit of oil and balsamic vinegar is all you need to create a really delicious "sauce".  Like many recipes, you can adapt it to suit your veggie preferences and/or whatever your garden and Mother Nature yields for you to use.  But definitely make sure you keep the tomatoes since that's the majority of the juice bearer.  And make sure you cover the top noodle well unless you want crunchy noodles.  Blech.  Who wants crunchy noodles??

I've only made this with grocery store vegetables and it was so fresh and flavorful.  I can only imagine how fabulous this would be from home grown garden or CSA fresh veggies!

Sauceless Garden Lasagna
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Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 45 Minutes
Ready In: 1 Hour 5 Minutes

Ingredients

• 1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
• 1/3 cup chopped red onion
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 portobello mushrooms, sliced
• 4 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (8 ounce) package no-cook lasagna noodles
• 9 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly coat a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, toss together the zucchini, mushrooms, spinach, garlic, red onion, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, and feta cheese. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and stir in basil, oregano, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir the mixture until evenly blended.
3. Place a layer of lasagna noodles into the bottom of the prepared pan. Make a layer of tomato slices over the noodles. Spread a generous amount of the spinach mixture over the tomatoes. (Don't worry, it shrinks a lot while cooking.)  Lay slices of tomatoes over the spinach mixture, then another layer of noodles. Start with another layer of tomatoes on top of the noodles, and repeat layering until the dish is heaped with lasagna, ending with the vegetable mixture. Sprinkle remaining cheese on the top.
4. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until noodles, and vegetables are tender. Let stand for a few minutes to set, then slice and serve

Source: All Recipes