Meet Giovanna Caprara; my new-found friend, terrific wife, mom and the family cook. In other words, she’s just like us, only Italian! At the end of my last tour to Italy, I had the opportunity to spend the whole day in her kitchen, cooking by her side. I am so lucky!
The first thing Giovanna and I cooked together was zucchini lasagna. This was an entirely new idea for me as I had neither eaten nor cooked it before. But let me tell you; it’s really delicious, simple to make and the taste of the fresh zucchini really shines through. I’d really only thought of lasagna as a meaty, red sauce kind of dish. But now, I have all kinds of lasagna ideas rolling around in my head; pumpkin, mushroom, eggplant. Giovanna and I also made a sausage and mushroom lasagna (among other things)…..that was out of this world which will all have to wait for another blog. In the meantime, here’s the recipe and photos for her zucchini lasagna, printed with her permission. (You might notice an inconsistency with the photos. I photographed Giovanna and I making the lasagna in Italy, then when I returned to NY, I made the lasagna and photographed it again. I’ll be using a compilation of both sets of photos to give you the best visual directions.)
Here’s your list of ingredients:
3 medium zucchini, grated, seasoned with salt
No-boil lasagna noodle sheets
16 oz. ricotta cheese
¼ c. pesto
Mozzarella, shredded
Parmesan, shredded
Breadcrumbs
butter
For the béchamel sauce:
50 grams of butter
6 T. flour
2 c. milk
Salt and pepper
The first thing Giovanna and I cooked together was zucchini lasagna. This was an entirely new idea for me as I had neither eaten nor cooked it before. But let me tell you; it’s really delicious, simple to make and the taste of the fresh zucchini really shines through. I’d really only thought of lasagna as a meaty, red sauce kind of dish. But now, I have all kinds of lasagna ideas rolling around in my head; pumpkin, mushroom, eggplant. Giovanna and I also made a sausage and mushroom lasagna (among other things)…..that was out of this world which will all have to wait for another blog. In the meantime, here’s the recipe and photos for her zucchini lasagna, printed with her permission. (You might notice an inconsistency with the photos. I photographed Giovanna and I making the lasagna in Italy, then when I returned to NY, I made the lasagna and photographed it again. I’ll be using a compilation of both sets of photos to give you the best visual directions.)
Here’s your list of ingredients:
3 medium zucchini, grated, seasoned with salt
No-boil lasagna noodle sheets
16 oz. ricotta cheese
¼ c. pesto
Mozzarella, shredded
Parmesan, shredded
Breadcrumbs
butter
For the béchamel sauce:
50 grams of butter
6 T. flour
2 c. milk
Salt and pepper
The beauty of this lasagna is you don’t have to cook either the lasagna noodles or the zucchini ahead of time, making it a fairly simple and quick dish to put together. Preheat your oven to 350. Grate the zucchini, season with a little salt, and set aside in a bowl.
Let’s make the béchamel sauce:
Let’s make the béchamel sauce:
In a saucepan, melt the butter.
Take the pan off the heat, and quickly whisk in all the flour to form a paste.
Put it back on the heat and whisk for one minute to “cook” the flour.
Whisk in about a ¼ cup of milk to loosen the paste and continue adding the milk a little at a time. Soon the sauce will begin to form.
As I was whisking, Giovanna warned me to whisk “non impazzisce”. In other words, “without craziness”….because I’d been whisking kind of willy-nilly. Giovanna says we must whisk always in the same direction to make a smooth sauce. I would listen to her if I were you.
Soon the sauce will thicken up and coat the spoon. At this point, remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Take the pan off the heat, and quickly whisk in all the flour to form a paste.
Put it back on the heat and whisk for one minute to “cook” the flour.
Whisk in about a ¼ cup of milk to loosen the paste and continue adding the milk a little at a time. Soon the sauce will begin to form.
As I was whisking, Giovanna warned me to whisk “non impazzisce”. In other words, “without craziness”….because I’d been whisking kind of willy-nilly. Giovanna says we must whisk always in the same direction to make a smooth sauce. I would listen to her if I were you.
Soon the sauce will thicken up and coat the spoon. At this point, remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Place the ricotta in a bowl.
Add a little béchamel sauce just to loosen the ricotta, and then add the pesto.
Stir together to blend.
The ricotta should now be a lovely shade of green and be spreadable.
If it’s still too thick to spread, you can always add a little milk.
Add a little béchamel sauce just to loosen the ricotta, and then add the pesto.
Stir together to blend.
The ricotta should now be a lovely shade of green and be spreadable.
If it’s still too thick to spread, you can always add a little milk.
Now your components should all be ready. Starting on the top left, I have my mozzarella shredded, the zucchini shredded, my ricotta/bechamel/pesto mixture and a small bowl of grated parmesan. My pot of remaining bechamel sauce is not pictured.
Time to start layering!
Giovanna lines her dish with parchment paper. I simply greased my 13 x 9 pan.
Time to start layering!
Giovanna lines her dish with parchment paper. I simply greased my 13 x 9 pan.
I put a couple of tablespoons of béchamel sauce to coat the bottom of my pan.
Then place a single layer of no-bake lasagna noodles on top.
Spread a layer of the ricotta mixture over the noodles.
Layer grated zucchini on top of that.
Next comes a layer of grated mozzarella followed by a sprinkling of grated parmesan.
Then place a single layer of no-bake lasagna noodles on top.
Spread a layer of the ricotta mixture over the noodles.
Layer grated zucchini on top of that.
Next comes a layer of grated mozzarella followed by a sprinkling of grated parmesan.
Time to start over: Add another layer each of béchamel sauce, noodles, ricotta, zucchini, mozzarella, and parmesan. And…….do it a third time. When you have three complete layers of ingredients, sprinkle the top with bread crumbs, dot with butter, and pop it into the hot oven. There it bakes for about 30 minutes.
When you pull it out, it should be browned and bubbly. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes before cutting into it.
You’re going to love this…..creamy, cheesy, yet fresh tasting because of all that zucchini and the pesto flavor in the background. Serve with a simple salad and maybe a nice pinot grigio. Delizioso! Thanks Giovanna!
You’re going to love this…..creamy, cheesy, yet fresh tasting because of all that zucchini and the pesto flavor in the background. Serve with a simple salad and maybe a nice pinot grigio. Delizioso! Thanks Giovanna!
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