If you normally feel guilty about having "carb overload" when you eat garlic bread with lasagna, go ahead and indulge with garlic bread as a side with this lasagna, since there's no gluten in the lasagna at all!
YELLOW SQUASH LASAGNA * gluten-free & vegetarian
2 large yellow crookneck squash (get them as fat as possible. If the necks are too skinny, cut those off to steam another night as a cooked vegetable.)
Kosher salt...........................................................olive oil non-stick cooking spray
Chunky GARDEN Tomato SAUCE:
1/4 cup green bell pepper, chopped….........……......1/2 cup white or yellow onion, chopped
2 tsp. garlic, minced or crushed……..........……….....1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 TB extra-virgin olive oil…………………..........…......1 (24 oz.) jar pasta sauce
1/2 tsp. cracked or crushed red pepper..................1-2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp. dried basil or 2 tsp. fresh basil, chopped......1/2 cup wine (red or white)
(TIP: I put the wine into the emptied jar of pasta sauce, put the lid back on and shake to get all the sauce off the bottom & sides of the jar ~ then empty that into the saucepan when ready)
1/2 tsp. dried oregano or 1 tsp. fresh oregano, chopped
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary leaves or 1 tsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
Optional: fresh mushrooms, sliced
CHEESE Layer:
1 small container ricotta cheese……………..........2 eggs
3 cups shredded or grated mozzarella or Italian blend cheese (divided use)
1/2 cup grated or shredded fresh parmesan cheese
Mix together ricotta, 2 cups mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, and eggs. Set aside.
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SAUCE: Add olive oil to a large saucepan on medium-high heat. Stir in mushrooms, green peppers, zucchini, onion and garlic and allow to cook for 3-4 minutes. Stir in pasta sauce, balsamic vinegar, wine, chopped tomatoes and dried basil; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.
For the layers: Cut the yellow squash lengthwise into very thin slices (I use a long serrated bread knife). Salt them on both sides and then put them between 2 layers of paper towels and let them sit for about 15 minutes (to let the natural water drain out). (If you press down on the top layer of paper towels after a few minutes, you'll notice how much water was in the squash from the damp spots on the towels. After 15 minutes, both layers of towels will be completely soaked through.)
Spray a 9x13" pan with olive oil non-stick spray. Make a layer of yellow squash with 1/3 of the slices (If you have a lot of slices and they're really thin, you can overlap a little). Then layer 1/3 of the sauce and then 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat 1 or 2 more times (depends on how many squash slices you have). Put the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese on the top. * Don't worry if the ricotta cheese layer gets mushed up with the sauce when you spread it ~ it will all blend together when it bakes anyways.
Preheat the oven to 375. IMPORTANT: Spray a large sheet of foil with the olive oil non-stick spray (so the cheese on the lasagna won’t stick to it), and cover the pan. As always, I highly recommend putting the pan on a large rimmed baking tray to catch any spill-over during baking. Bake for 30 minutes; then uncover and cook for another 15 minutes. Let it rest for at least 5-10 minutes before cutting. Serves about 6-8.
NOTE: If you didn't get all of the water out of the yellow squash, the lasagna could be a little too loose and not set up really well. If that happens, don't worry. It will still taste fantastic! Just serve it in a big soup bowl instead, with a fork and a spoon.....
~OR~ take the first piece out, set it aside. Then scoop the excess watery sauce out with a big spoon (slightly tipping the pan towards that corner), being careful to leave any veggies still in the pan.