Grilled Vegetable
Lasagna
Adapted from Cooking Light
Grilling the vegetables deepens their flavors, which makes for a delicious vegetarian entrée. To speed preparation, use no-boil lasagna noodles; the baking time remains the same.
3 eggplants, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices (about 3 pounds)
3 zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/8-inch slices (about 1 1/4 pounds)
Cooking spray
1 teaspoon salt, divided
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
2 red bell peppers, quartered and seeded
1 (15-ounce) container fat-free ricotta cheese
1 large egg
3/4 cup grated Asiago cheese, divided
1/4 cup minced fresh basil
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
9 whole wheat lasagna noodles, divided
1 (26-ounce) jar tomato-basil spaghetti sauce (such as Muir Glen), divided
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 cup commercial pesto (such as Alessi)
Preheat grill.
Coat eggplants and zucchini with cooking spray. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Grill eggplant and zucchini 1 1/2 minutes on each side or just until tender. Cool; combine in a large bowl.
Place bell peppers on grill, skin-side down; grill 3 minutes or until tender. Cut into (1-inch-wide) strips. Add bell peppers to eggplant mixture.
Combine ricotta cheese, egg, 1/2 cup Asiago cheese, basil, parsley, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.
Cook the lasagna noodles according to package directions, omitting the salt and the fat.
Preheat oven to 375°.
Spread 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 3 noodles over tomato sauce. Top with half of eggplant mixture. Spread half of ricotta cheese mixture over eggplant mixture; sprinkle with 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese.
Arrange 3 noodles and 1 cup of spaghetti sauce over cheese; cover with the remaining eggplant mixture. Top with remaining ricotta mixture. Spread pesto over ricotta; sprinkle with 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese. Cover with remaining 3 noodles.
Spoon 1 cup spaghetti sauce over noodles. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Asiago cheese and remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese.
Bake at 375° for 1 hour. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
Yield: 10 servings
CALORIES 318(29% from fat); FAT 10.4g (sat 4.2g,mono
1.3g,poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 15.2g; CHOLESTEROL 40mg; CALCIUM 269mg; SODIUM 728mg;
FIBER 3.2g; IRON 2.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 41.9g
Cooking Light, APRIL 2005