Zucchini And Basil Lasagna Food

EASY ZUCCHINI LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375F.
• Salt & pre-bake zucchini noodles: arrange zucchini slices on sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with course sea salt - let sit for 5-10 minutes so zucchini "sweats" any excess moisture. Use paper towels to press and dry zucchini noodles. Then bake noodles for 8-10 minutes - pat them dry when finished baking. Note: pre-baking the zucchini will help dry up even more moisture from the noodles.
• Ricotta filling: in a medium-sized bowl, mix all of ricotta filling ingredients together.
• Layer ingredients: In a 13x9 baking dish, layer lasagna: spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the dish, add layer of cooked zucchini noodles, thin layer of ricotta filling, and mozzarella cheese & little parmesan, and generous sprinkle of freshly cut oregano & basil. Repeat each step until finished. On top layer with sauce, mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese.
• Bake: Leave dish uncovered and bake for 40-45 minutes, then broil on HIGH for 1 to 2 minutes until cheese is browned. Sprinkle with chopped fresh basil. Slice and enjoy!

ZUCCHINI LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• For the marinara sauce: Heat the canola oil in a large saucepan, add the onions, and cook until translucent. Blend the tomatoes in a food processor. With a slotted spoon, remove the onions from the oil. Add the blended tomato, salt, pepper, and basil to the pan. Stir with a wooden spoon. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 40 minutes.
• For the zucchini: While the sauce is simmering, fry the zucchini. Place the flour on a flat dish. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, salt, pepper, and Romano cheese with a fork. In a large frying pan, heat the canola oil. Coat the zucchini slices in flour, then dip in the egg mixture. Fry until golden brown. Remove each piece, placing on a tray lined with paper towels.
• For the ricotta filing: In a large bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, eggs, parsley, salt, pepper, and Romano cheese.
• To assemble: In a 9 by 13 by 2-inch rectangular baking dish, spread 4 ounces of marinara sauce. Layer some of the fried zucchini to cover the bottom of the dish, slightly overlapping the pieces.
• Spread 8 ounces of marinara over the zucchini. With a plastic spatula, spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the marinara, and sprinkle with 3/4 cups of mozzarella.
• Repeat layering the zucchini, sauce, ricotta filling, and mozzarella, ending with 1 cup of mozzarella.
• Cover the dish in foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove the foil and continue to cook until the top is slightly brown. Cool the lasagna for 15 minutes.
• For the zucchini flowers: Rinse the zucchini flowers gently under running water. Pat dry. Dredge the zucchini flowers in the beaten egg, and then cover in breadcrumbs. Fry in canola oil until crispy. Sprinkle with salt, to taste. Place the flowers on top of the lasagna and serve.

ZUCCHINI AND BASIL SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, thyme, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper and cook, stirring, until the potatoes are well coated, 2 to 3 minutes more. Pour in the broth and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the zucchini, bring back to a simmer and cook until tender, about 10 minutes, adjusting the heat as needed to maintain a simmer. Remove from the heat, discard the thyme and let cool at least 5 minutes. Stir the basil into the soup and carefully puree until smooth with a handheld immersion blender or in 2 to 3 batches in a blender (do not fill the blender more than halfway full).
• Reheat the soup if necessary, adjusting the consistency and seasoning with additional water, salt and pepper.
• Serve hot and garnish with a sprinkle of almonds, basil leaves and a drizzle of oil.

RAW LASAGNA (ZUCCHINI AND TOMATO)

Steps:

• Lemon-Filbert "Ricotta".
• Place the filberts, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and salt in a food processor, and pulse a few times, until thoroughly combined. Gradually add 6 tablespoons water, and pulse until the texture becomes fluffy, like ricotta. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside.
• Tomato Sauce.
• Place all ingredients in a blender, and process until smooth.
• Basil-Pine Nut Pesto.
• Place all ingredients in a blender, and process until smooth.
• Lasagne.
• Using a mandoline or vegetable peeler, shave zucchini lengthwise into very thin slices, then cut in half crosswise. Cut the tomatoes in half, and each half into thin slices. Line the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with two layers of zucchini slices. Brush the zucchini lightly with olive oil, spread 1/3 of the tomato sauce over it, and top with small dollops of "ricotta" and pesto, using 1/3 of each. Layer on 1/3 of the tomato slices, and sprinkle with 1/3 of the oregano and thyme. Add another double layer of zucchini and repeat twice more with the tomato sauce, pesto, ricotta, tomato slices, and herbs. Serve immediately, or cover with plastic and let sit at room temperature for a few hours. Garnish with basil.

BASIL LASAGNA

Steps:

• Notes: I purchase store bought fresh pasta. For the Roasted Tomato Sauce the ingredients are listed from the tomatoes line. Having extra sauce on hands is suggested, when cooking with fresh pasta it dries out and gets chewy. I double the sauce recipe. Do not over-bake this recipe. Due to the cheese it will burn and get chewy.
• Variation: Add garlic to taste to the sauce, roasting it with the tomatoes is good. I also tried this with 1 pound of browned lean ground beef. I added a can of tomato sauce until the sauce was the right consistency to cover the lasagna with.
• For the filling stir together the cheeses, basil, oregano, thawed and completely drained spinach, black pepper to taste.
• Set aside filling.
• For the roasted tomato sauce preheat oven to 350.
• In a large roasting pan add all ingredients and bake for 1 hour until skins are slightly charred.
• Once cooled, blend quickly in a blender to coarsely chop (30 seconds).
• Cover and chill until ready to use.
• Place about 2/3 cup of the cheese filling on each pasta sheet.
• Spread evenly leaving a one inch border along the sides.
• Fold the two long sides over edges of filling, then with sides in place, roll up to form a packet that encases the filling.
• Place filled packets in a shallow casserole dish.
• Top each with 1/2 cup or more of sauce to cover the packet.
• Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes or until sauce is bubbly (at 350 degrees I bake for 20-25 minutes) or lower oven temperature to 300 for 30 minutes.

RAW LASAGNA (ZUCCHINI AND AND BASIL CASHEW CHEESE)

Steps:

• "Zucchini ""Noodles"":.
• Using a Mandoline Slicer, slice zucchini into thin strips. Marinate ""noodles""in 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon olive oil for 10 minutes.
• Basil Cashew Cheese:.
• Drain soaked cashews. Places soaked Cashews, Garlic, Fresh Lemon Juice, Water, Basil, Nutritional Yeast and Salt and Pepper in a high speed blender or food processor and blend until well combined. (Stop and scrape down sides as needed.) Pour into separate bowl and set aside.
• Tomato Sauce:.
• Place Sun dried Tomatoes, Roma Tomatos, Salt and Pepper and a tsp of olive oil into your blender or food processor and blend until well combined. Add water if needed to thin it out.
• Assembly:.
• Line the base of your dish with zucchini strips, overlapping them slightly.
• On top of this, put down a layer of the basil cheese, and then the tomato sauce.
• Finish this with another layer of slightly overlapping zucchini strips.
• Repeat step 2, and add the final layer of zucchini with tomato sauce on top.
• Let the lasagna chill out in the fridge for a bit, so it's easier to cut into individual portions. If only making a few portions, feel free to assemble your lasagna on each plate instead.
• Garnish individual portions with black pepper and a sprig of basil.