Last night was the perfect night for a little bit of recipe experimenting. Due to business travel and sporting events, I had only one other person at home with me, my 13 year old who had the start of a cold. As she was a bit under the weather, a bowl of pasta was all she really wanted. With no other diners, I wouldn’t have to consider if the meal was filling enough or would get eye rolls from teens.
I had two summer squash in the refrigerator, which seemed like the perfect replacement for noodles in lasagna. I didn’t have any ricotta on hand, so I needed to find other ingredients as fillings. A little bit of cooked spinach would give color, texture, and a hint of flavor. Add the usual layers of homemade marinara and mozzarella, and it was lasagna in the making.
I thoroughly enjoyed this meal and thought it was a delicious way to use summer squash. However, as the dish was made primarily with vegetables, it wasn’t very filling. To keep it vegetarian, I would suggest adding ricotta or serving it with garlic bread. If a little meat is fine, I would serve it with a side of meatballs and marinara. Another option would be to serve the squash lasagna as a side dish to accompany grilled chicken or steak.
This recipe will be quite useful when summer arrives and there are squash and zucchini overflowing our gardens. . .though I probably won’t wait that long to try this dish again.
- 2 summer squash
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1 cup marinara
- 1 cup frozen spinach, thawed
- 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella
- parmesan cheese, grated
- Preheat oven to 425.
- Slice squash lengthwise into 1/4″ thick slices.
- Brush will olive oil on both sides, and place on baking sheet.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until tender.
- Reduce heat to 375.
- In a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan, spread a thin layer of marinara.
- Place squash slices on marinara, enough to cover bottom of pan.
- Top with half of the spinach and half of the mozzarella.
- Top with another layer of squash slices.
- Top squash with remaining spinach and 1/3 cup of marinara.
- Sprinkle parmesan on top of marinara.
- Add another layer of squash slices, and top with marinara and remaining mozzarella.
- Bake for 25 minutes.
- Serve with additional marinara or parmesan, if desired.
