Zucchini Baked Ziti No Pasta Food

BEST VEGETARIAN BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When ready, add the pasta and cook to al dante according to package. When ready, drain pasta but save about 1/2 cup cooking water.
• While the pasta is cooking , cook the vegetables. In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add onions and cook for 3 minutes or so, tossing regularly, then add diced zucchini, bell pepper, and garlic. Raise heat to medium-high and cook for about 6 to 8 minutes, tossing regularly, until vegetables have softened and cooked through. Season with kosher salt, oregano and paprika. Sit aside till needed.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, 1/4 cup grated Paremsan and 3 tbsp Mozzarella. Mix well. (If needed, add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to help mix the cheese)
• Once the pasta has been cooked and drained, bring it back to the cooking pot. Add 1/2 of the marinara sauce and starchy cooking water you reserved (1/2 cup). Mix well to coat the pasta with the sauce. Fold in the ricotta cheese filling. Mix again to combine, but leave some big "pockets" of the cheese mixture.
• Grab a 9 1/2" x 13" casserole dish. Pour a little marinara sauce to the bottom of the dish, spread. Spread half the pasta. Now add the cooked vegetables and some of the torn basil on top and spread well across the pasta layer. Sprinkle a little bit of shredded mozzarella on top (leave more mozzarella for very top layer.) Add remaining pasta. Spread remaining marinara sauce on top and add remaining mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.
• Place the casserole dish on the middle rack of your heated oven. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or so. Remove from heat and let rest about 10 to 15 minutes before cutting through. garnish with fresh basil.

MELTED ZUCCHINI BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package directions. Be sure to reserve the ½ cup of the pasta water after cooking!
• Heat a large skillet (you can do an oven safe one if you don't want to transfer) over medium-low heat and add the olive oil. Add the zucchini, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Cook, stirring often, until the zucchini cook down and sort of melt into the pan. Stir in the red pepper flakes.
• Stir in the reserved pasta water and the pesto. Stir in the fresh basil. By this time the pasta should be finished. You can either add everything to a baking dish or add it all to the skillet if it's large enough. Toss the pasta with the zucchini pesto mixture - whether it's in the dish or skillet.
• Add the ricotta cheese in scoops throughout the pasta. Toss it together until the ricotta coats most of the pasta. Add the fresh mozzarella - a few slices in the noodles and a few on top too.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, just until the cheese melts everything comes together. Remove and serve immediately with a sprinkle of fresh parmesan and fresh basil for garnish.

ZUCCHINI NOODLE BAKED ZITI WITH ROMESCO

Steps:

• Boil water and add over cashews to completely cover, let sit for 30 minutes. In the meantime, make the romesco meat sauce.
• Using tongs, carefully, lightly roast each sweet pepper over an open flame on your stove top. Rotate the pepper, just for a couple of minutes for each pepper until you have light blisters. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
• Once cool enough to handle, roughly chop peppers (discard the inside and seeds), toss the peppers in your food processor with the rest of the ingredients and pulse until well blended into a sauce. Set aside.
• To a skillet, add olive oil with chopped onions over medium heat and lightly cook until translucent for a few minutes, then add in the ground meat breaking it up with a spoon. Cook, while mixing well and adding in seasonings until the meat, is cooked (no red/raw meat is showing anymore).
• Add romesco sauce over top of meat and reduce heat to low until well coated and slightly bubbling.
• Roughly chop spiralized zoodles (I made mine into the large ribbon-like pieces, but any shape will do!), into bite-size pieces so it's less stringy. Add to pan and with tongs, coat completely in the romesco meat sauce. Turn heat off.
• Finish up the cheese by draining cashews, and adding them to a blender or food processor with lemon, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt and egg. Mix until well blended - it's okay if it's very loose, it will stiffen up in the oven.
• Time to assemble!
• Add a layer of the romesco meat sauce with coated zoodles to the bottom of your baking dish (8-inch should work well!)
• Then pour in a layer of the cashew cheese. Repeat this with the cashew cheese left last on top of the entire ziti.
• Bake for 20-30 minutes, optionally add more nutritional yeast to the top mid-way and broil for a little more color for just a minute or two - watch carefully. Serve!

BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Heat canola oil in a saute pan over medium heat and add onion and garlic. Saute until the onions become translucent. Add tomatoes, parsley, basil, and Italian seasoning. Cover and let simmer about 25 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Bring a pot of water to boiling for the pasta. Add salt and pasta and boil until pasta is al dente - about 10 minutes.
• Drain pasta well stir into pot of sauce. Transfer to a baking dish and top with cheeses. Bake until cheese is melted.

BAKED PASTA WITH SAUSAGE AND ZUCCHINI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Generously butter a 9x12-inch casserole pan and coat with half the bread crumbs.
• Place the zucchini in a colander and sprinkle with the salt.
• Cover with a plate (press down on the zucchini), weighted down with a heavy object.
• The salt will draw the liquid from the zucchini; the plate will help squeeze it out.
• Allow the zucchini to sit for about 20 minutes.
• Place the onion, celery, carrot and pancetta or bacon in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture is chopped into tiny pieces.
• In a large, deep sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat.
• Add the vegetable-pancetta mixture and the garlic.
• Sauté for 5 to 6 minutes.
• Add the sausage, stirring to break it up further and cook for 4 to 6 minutes, until the sausage is cooked through.
• Add the wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add the tomato sauce and broth.
• Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
• You should have a thin rather than thick pasta sauce; you want it liquid, as the mixture will eventually bake.
• Set the sauce aside, and cook the pasta in the boiling water according to the package directions.
• Do not overcook; the pasta should hold its shape.
• While the pasta is cooking, rinse the zucchini.
• Wrap in a clean, dry kitchen towel and squeeze out all the moisture.
• Heat 1 to 2 tablespoons of the remaining oil.
• Add the zucchini, and over high heat, brown on all sides for 3 to 4 minutes.
• Cook in two batches, adding more oil if necessary, if the zucchini pieces are too many for one pan.
• They should be softened but not mushy.
• Remove and set aside.
• Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the cooking water.
• Remove 1 cup of the pasta sauce from its pan and warm the remainder.
• Add the pasta and reserved pasta water to the sauce in the pan and toss well.
• Add the zucchini and mozzarella and stir well.
• Spoon the pasta mixture into the prepared casserole pan.
• Pour the reserved sauce over the top and sprinkle with the remaining bread crumbs and the Romano.
• Cover the casserole tightly with aluminum foil, and bake in the center of the oven for about 10 minutes, until warmed through.
• Remove the foil, check that the mozzarella is melted and broil for 1 to 2 minutes to crisp the top before serving.

ZUCCHINI BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Boil water and cook the ziti according to package directions.
• While it is cooking, follow next steps.
• When it is done, drain and set aside in large bowl (or pot).
• Slice the zucchini.
• In a skillet, heat 1/4 cup olive oil and fry the zucchini until browned on both sides.
• Take them out of the pan and drain on paper towels.
• In a saucepan, heat the remaining 1/4 cup oil.
• Add the onion and cook until translucent.
• Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes, basil, parsley, salt and pepper.
• Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Pour into large bowl with the drained ziti.
• Rub two shallow baking pans with olive oil.
• In the first pan, put 1/4 of the ziti, then 1/4 of the zucchini.
• Dot with butter, add 1/4 of the mozzarella and then 1/4 of the Parmesan.
• Repeat the layers in that pan.
• Repeat above steps for second pan.
• Bake pans in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes until the top is brown and crusty.
• OR BAKE ONE, FREEZE ONE!
• OR FREEZE BOTH: Cover the other pan tightly with aluminum foil and freeze.
• Defrost before baking.