"Garden Variety Lasagna"

"Garden Variety Lasagna" (named by my brother-in-law, Marcus)
Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

This recipe is similar to the last one I posted, since both use eggplant, tomato sauce and cheeses to entice people to eat their veggies. J But this is more like a lasagna than a custard based casserole and I absolutely love the addition of fennel and bell peppers in this dish!  Fennel has recently become my new obsession, so be on the lookout for more fennelized recipes on this blog!  I just adore the anise flavor it lends and roasted fennel = flavor punch!  This recipe makes enough for a crowd (I would cut it in half if serving 4 – 6 people).  I made it for a family get together and it went over really well; it is a great way to get kids to eat their veggies!  And have fun with the veggies…don’t like eggplant?  Try using zucchini!  There are many ways you could adapt this recipe. 

Ingredients:

2 medium eggplants, cut into ¼ to ½ inch-thick slices

4 medium fennel bulbs, trimmed and sliced ¼ inch thick

2 red bell peppers, cored and sliced into 1 inch thick slices

2 orange bell peppers, cored and sliced into 1 inch thick slices

2 yellow bell peppers, cored and sliced into 1 inch thick slices

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

2 (26 oz.) jars marinara (Roasted garlic flavored is PERFECT in this!)

1 teaspoon crushed red peppers, less if you can't handle the heat!

1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning

1 ½ pounds mozzarella, shredded

2 cups Parmesan, grated

1 cup plain bread crumbs

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Place the vegetables on three separate baking pans – one for eggplant, one for fennel and one for peppers.  Drizzle olive oil over them and season with salt and pepper.  Make sure they are evenly coated.  Roast for 30-40 minutes, turning them over once partway through to cook evenly.

Step 2

As the vegetables roast, prepare the marinara by heating it in a pot over medium heat.  Add the Italian seasoning and crushed red peppers.  Taste and adjust seasoning to your preference.  When the sauce is warmed, add ¼ - ½ c. Parmesan to it.  It will add a nutty and salty kick to the sauce.

Step 3

When the vegetables are finished roasting, turn the heat back to 375 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 13 casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Step 4

Spoon about 1 ½ cups of sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish.  Arrange the eggplant on top of the sauce.  Sprinkle 2 cups of mozzarella and ½ cup of Parmesan over the eggplant.  Distribute the peppers evenly over the cheeses.  Spoon 1 ½ cups of sauce over the peppers.  Sprinkle 2 cups of mozzarella and ½ cup of Parmesan on top.  Layer the fennel over the cheeses and then spoon another 1 ½ cups of sauce over the vegetables.  Top with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.  Sprinkle the bread crumbs on top and drizzle with olive oil.

Step 5

Bake for 30 minutes.  The top should be golden and the sauce bubbling.  Serve after resting at least 10 minutes.