UCLBS Recipes

T's Vegetable Lasagna

4-5 zucchini - approximately 8 inches long
2 medium cooking onions, diced
2 bell peppers (I like to use 1 red and 1 yellow), peeled, seeded, and diced
5 stalks celery - destrung if necessary, using a vegetable peeler - and diced
20 sliced brown mushrooms
20 fluid oz. tomato paste*
oregano to taste
salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, crushed
750 grams dry curd cottage cheese
125 grams fresh grated parmesan
sliced provolone to cover a 9"x13" pyrex dish twice

*tomato paste can be made by gently reducing Heinz tomato juice. For 20 fluid oz. of tomato paste, use 2-48 fluid ounce cans of tomato juice.

Slice zucchini lengthwise, about 3/16". Lay flat on a paper towel-lined cookie sheet, and salt liberally with kosher salt. Saute peppers, celery, onions and mushrooms until tender. Add Tomato paste, oregano, salt & pepper and garlic, and stir over low heat for a couple more minutes.

Pat liquid off zucchinni with paper towels, and keep patting off the remaining slices as you work. The longer you let the liquid bleed out, the less watery your lasagna will be. Into a 9"x13" pyrex dish, spoon enough sauce to float zucchini on - you just want to keep it from touching the bottom of the dish. Place a layer of zucchini slices on the sauce, and then cover with half the remaining sauce. Crumble half the DCCC over the sauce. Layer it with half the provolone, and sprinkle with half the grated pamesan. Repeat, starting with remaining zucchini.

Place in a 350 degree oven, and bake for 40 minutes to 1 hour. When the cheese begins to brown slightly, check with a fork to see how tender the zucchini is. When zucchini is tender, remove from oven and let sit for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

This lasagna is very rich and filling. It refrigerates and reheats well.