Wednesday, August 13, 2008

More Zucchini Love

Last night I made lasagna, but instead of pasta noodles I used strips of zucchini. It'd been quite a long time since I did this last, so I worried if Greg would remember he'd liked it before. Guess so - he had two helpings. :o)
This is not so much a recipe as a technique for using the zucchini in place of noodles. Here's how it went: First, a giant zucchini. I've placed the regular-sized jar of spaghetti sauce next to it so you can see how bit the monster is. To the left you can see a little bit of the biggest knife I own. It, too, is huge.

Ah, the giant knife and a strainer-full of zucchini "noodles". If you click on the photo to enlarge you'll see the kosher salt I sprinkled liberally all over them. This draws out the water, thus the strainer. I only left these about 15 minutes - next time I'll prepare them earlier in the day and let them drain lots longer. The finished product was still a bet wet.


Here I have rinsed the salt from the noodles and am patting them dry. See how perfectly sliced they are? No? Well, neither are my fingers, which is what would have happened had I striven for perfection. Believe me. I have scars to prove it.


Ah, the final layer. Here is where you just use your favorite lasagna recipe and assemble as instructed, though obviously using the zucchini instead of pasta.
(Have I mentioned often enough so far that we're using the zucchini in place of noodles?)



And here it is, folks! It was yummy and juicy and I really liked the texture of the noodles, but it didn't have a "squashy" taste.
Let me know if you try it - I'd be interested to hear what you think.














1 comment:

Barbara Allen Moore said...

Wow that looks great!! Next time try this as another low calorie substitute for ricotta: Tofu Ricotta Cheese
14oz.water packed firm tofu,rinsed and drained
2/3 cup yellow or white miso
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup tahini (sesame paste used in hummus)
1/4 cup olive oil
5 lg. garlic cloves
1 1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
3/4 tsp sea salt (or kosher salt)
Blend it altogether in a food processor until smooth, will keep for 2 days covered and refrigerated.
I swear this has the texure and flavor of regular ricotta cheese.
This is very italian flavored so you might want to leave out the herbs when not using in Italian foods. Just wanted to share, you are such and adventurus cook. Got this from "The Real Food Daily Cookbook" by Ann Gentry. Enjoy!