Roasted Veggie Lasagna

Ah...the fresh tastes of summer, zucchini, fresh herbs, and peppers in every color under the sun. I can't forget the tangy goat cheese in my fridge and of course the gallons of golden, fruity, olive oil that I keep in my cupboard.

It all tastes so good and I just feel healthier eating this stuff. So what do I do with a bunch of yummy veggies and some cheese? I make a lasagna, of course.

It's really not a lasagna. There's no pasta, but it is really yummy and easy, too.

Take the veggies you like and grill them. I don't have a grill. I need one, but I do have a grill pan. You could roast your veggies on a sheet pan in the oven, but they won't get those pretty grill lines or the intense flavor of the char.

I use my oven to roast and blacken my peppers. You can do this on the grill too. I've even done this over an open flame on my stovetop. No matter how you do it, the key is to completely blacken the skin. It will give your peppers so much flavor, but you don't want to eat the burnt part unless you like your food completely burnt.

My grandmother liked her hotdogs burnt. Come to think of it, so did my husband's grandmother. She liked her dogs burnt, black even, and insisted on calling them wieners. Maybe it's an old lady thing. They both lived super long lives, one of them almost made it to a hundred and, all their lives, they ate black wieners. Stop it. You know what I mean.

Back to roasted peppers...just in case, don’t eat the burnt part. Peel the blackened skin away and let the tender, smokey, roasted pepper emerge.

Sauté some spinach in a pan with olive oil, salt, and pepper. I do this until they are slightly wilted, not cooked down to nothing. I just like to get them heated through with a nice shine of olive oil on their leaves.

Now we are ready to assemble. Layer your grilled zucchini and yellow squash first. they are the firmest and will help your lasagna keep its shape. Then, layer the peppers, then the spinach, then the goat cheese and herbs. Drizzle with olive oil and repeat.

You can eat this right away, but if you want it to keep its shape it needs to be completely chilled.

This dish is completely keto-friendly and gluten-free, but if you're not on a diet, get the best crusty, Italian bread you can find and have at it!

Oh, and here is my first attempt at a youtube cooking video. Give it a look-sy. It's far from professional, but it might be entertaining.

Roasted Veggie Lasagna

The sweetness and char of the roasted vegetables, coupled with tangy goat cheese, and fresh herbs, makes this a summer delight. It's keto-friendly and gluten-free, but mostly it's just delicious.

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Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Course gluten-free, keto, Main Course, Side Dish, vegetarian

Cuisine American, Mediterranean

Servings 6 people

Equipment

• 8x8 baking dish

Ingredients

  

• 2-3 medium zucchini cut in half, and then sliced, long-ways ¼ inch thick
• 2-3 medium yellow squash cut in half, and then sliced, long-ways ¼ inch thick
• 6 assorted bell peppers
• 8 ounces baby spinach
• 1-1½ cups goat cheese I like to buy goat cheese crumbles
• 1 cup fresh chopped herbs like basil, parsly, and mint
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup olive oil plus more if needed

Instructions

 

• Move the rack in your oven to the top-third and preheat the oven to Broil.
• Cut peppers and remove the seeds. Add the cut peppers to a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Add the peppers, skin-side up, to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put them in the oven and remove them once the skins have become completely blackened (about 10 minutes). You can also leave the peppers whole, unadorned, and char them directly on an open flame.
• Once the peppers are charred, add them to a bowl and cover them with plastic wrap to cool. This will allow the skins to move away from the flesh making them easier to peel. Once peppers are cooled, peel away the charred skin and slice the peppers into ¼ inch strips.
• Slice the zucchini and squash as directed above. In a large bowl, add the zucchini and squash. Add enough olive oil to coat all the veggies and season well with salt and pepper. Mix. Over high heat on the grill or in a grill pan, sear the veggies (about 2-3 minutes per side). Take the veggies off the heat and set aside.
• Add a little olive oil to a pan and add the spinach. Season with some salt and pepper. Using tongs, turn your spinach until it's coated with olive oil and slightly wilted. Turn off the heat and set it aside.

  Chop your herbs and get your goat cheese ready. It's time to assemble.
• To assemble, line an 8x8, 2-inch deep pan with plastic wrap. Use two pieces placing one vertically and one horizontally. Allow a generous amount of plastic wrap to hang over the sides.

  Start layering. Layer the zucchini first, then half of the peppers, then half of the spinach, half of the cheese, and half of the herbs. Drizzle liberally with olive oil and repeat starting with squash and ending with more squash and zucchini. Fold the 4 sides of plastic wrap on top of the lasagna and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

  Once the lasagna is chilled, unwrap it and flip it out onto a board or a nice serving dish. Cut in squares and serve.

Keyword gluten-free, keto, roasted vegetables, summer, vegetarian lasagna