DIRECTIONS
“Grilled” Vegetable Lasagna
Adapted by Larry Gaian, The BBQ Grail from an original recipe by Gordon Ramsey featured in Cooking for Friends. Published in 2008 by HarperCollins
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Serves: 4 – 6
For the tomato and basil sauce:
2 Tbspolive oil
1 onion chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 carrot, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
leaves, stripped from a spring of fresh thyme
28 oz can crushed tomatoes in juice
1 tsp sugar (optional)
small handful of fresh basil, leaves torn
For the grilled vegetables:
1 small eggplant sliced into disks
1 large zucchini – sliced length-wise
1 yellow crookneck squash sliced into disks
Olive oil for drizzling
leaves stripped from a few sprigs of fresh thyme
1 yellow bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
Preparation Steps
The tomato sauce. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and thyme with some salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently until the vegetables are soft, 6 – 8 minutes. Tip in the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the sauces has been reduced and thickened slightly about 30 minutes. Taste and add sugar if the sauce seems acidic. When the tomato sauce is ready, add the basil. Transfer to a food processor and blitz until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Strain into a bowl if you like a smooth sauce, or skip that step if you like a more rustic sauce.
The vegetables. Trim the eggplant, zucchini and squash. Spritz with canola oil and use tongs or spatula to sear mark exposed areas on the grill about 2-3 minutes depending upon the heat of the grates. Transfer to a large bowl, toss with herbs and season with a touch of salt and olive oil.
Cut the bell peppers in half, remove seeds and core and spritz with canola oil before placing on a hot clean grate of your grill. Use tongs to turn and grill until well charred, 10 – 15 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly before peeling off the skins. Cut the flesh into large bite-size pieces and add to the bowl of grilled vegetables.
The pasta. Some folks use dried lasagna noodles and these should either be lightly par-boiled to the point where they are barely pliable and re-hydrated. If you use fresh lasagna noodles you may prefer to skip that step.
The dish.
Set up your grill or cooker to indirect heat and preheat to 350F degrees.
Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce over the bottom of a deep non-reactive metal baking dish.
Put two sheets of lasagna noodles on top of the sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Arrange a layer of grilled vegetables on the pasta, followed by a layer of mozzarella.
Add another layer of tomato sauce and noodles, etc.
Repeat the layers until reach the top of the dish – finish with a layer of lasagna sheets spread generously with tomato sauce, topped with a final layer of mozzarella cheese and a sprinkling of Parmesan.
Bake until the cheese topping is golden brown and the sauce is bubbling around the sides or approximately 30 – 40 minutes.
Allow to cool for about 15 minutes before serving – so the dish sets and doesn’t run.
Larry Gaian is a contributor to Sizzle on the Grill, read more at The BBQ Grail.com