Skip the Noodles: Zucchini Lasagna

Ah yes. It's that wonderful time of year again. Zucchini everything. And everywhere. I actually love zukes, so I'm always up for the seasonal challenge to creatively use up bucketloads of them. This recipe is my new favorite thing to do with a glut of zukes: slice them up in long thin slices and use them in lieu of noodles to make a delicious, pasta-free vegetarian lasagna.

At first I was skeptical, but one bite and I was sold.

The biggest challenge in making this recipe is keeping the lasagna from getting too soupy. Without the pasta to absorb the extra moisture, and with the tendency of vegetables (especially zucchini!) to release their juices as they bake, it's important to follow these simple tips. First, make sure you salt the zucchini slices generously and then let them "sweat" for about 30 minutes. Zucchinis are made up of a LOT of water! You'll be surprised how much comes out. You can then run two fingers on either side of the slices, squeezing all the way down over a bowl or the sink, releasing even more water. But this is not enough. You'll then need to pat the slices dry before using. I use a clean towel to do this. Make sure the zucchini slices are nice and dry. If they're not, you may even want to salt them a second time and run through the process again. I didn't salt my zucchini slices at all the first time around and ended up with a very liquidy lasagna, so don't skip this step unless you like lasagna soup! I also include a couple tablespoonfuls of flour (can be gluten-free flour) in my recipe and this helps soak up a little of the juice while baking too.

I wondered at first whether you could make this lasagna with medium-sized zucchinis. I worried the seeds might get in the way. But I used zucchini that were as large as 4 inches wide and it worked perfectly fine. No need to de-seed the zucchini, just slice them up, salt, pat dry, and roast for about 10 minutes before using.

This recipe is a wonderful way to also use up extra tomatoes, though you can certainly buy a pre-made sauce.

My friend puts a little fennel seed in her lasagna sauce and it gives a wonderful depth of flavor to the dish. Upon tasting it, one dinner guest pointed out that it makes the lasagna taste like pepperoni or sausage. So I've adopted the fennel seed addition! And of course, an Italian secret I learned: add a few sprinkles of sugar to your pasta sauce to cut the acidity of the tomatoes.

You can add whatever you fancy to this lasagna: ground beef, roasted red pepper, spinach. I kept mine fairly straight-forward because I wanted to highlight the zucchini, so I used a mix of mushrooms, swiss chard, and onion for my veggie filling.

And of course, plenty of cheese (what would lasagna be without that!?).

I'm not sure whether my Italian friends will approve of this no-pasta lasagna, but as they say, don't knock it til you try it. Buon appetito!

Aube is a passionate organic gardener and home cook who likes to share the stories of how food gets to our dinner plates. Her work has been shown on television and at international film festivals. Her web series was nominated for a 2014 James Beard Award. In 2012, she was the recipient of Saveur Magazine's Best Food Blog award in the video category.