Summer, summer, summer. The lethargic days of July deliver warm, humid nights which are perfect for producing the edibles maturing in vegetable gardens. Green beans, tomatoes, and the ever longed for yet dreaded zucchini. Longed for in such a way that the first blossoms on the zucchini plants are welcomed with glee. Dreaded in that by mid July and throughout August and early September, zucchini are overtaking the garden, the counters, the refrigerator and the patience of our friends and neighbors who can’t take any more !!!
I am always interested in creating new dinner dishes with zucchini. I don’t use them in a lot of baking tho we do love the occasional chocolate zucchini cake and of course zucchini breads of which recipes abound.
Last week I made a pasta dish which was accompanied by garlic bread…naturally. What is pasta without garlic bread ? We are blessed here in the Berkshires by many artisan bakers, chefs, and edible, delectable offerings. One of my (and my daughter in law Gina’s) favorite stops when we are in Great Barrington, is The Berkshire Mountain Bakery. The fresh bread (and other goodies) the bakery creates and offers are beyond delicious. Typically I don’t bake bread in the summer. It is much too hot and oft times humid to do a lot of baking. So…I go where I know I will not be disappointed and buy to my souls delight.
Occasionally, we get a summer day that is cooler and rain infused. As was yesterday. On those days, I do bake. I try to refill the freezer with baked goods made with fresh fruit (think blueberries right now) and of course, zucchini bread. Baking two or three loaves of each means we can enjoy one right now and on those oppressively hot, lethargic, dog days of summer when the last thing I want to do is start the oven; I pull something out of the freezer to enjoy.
As I was going through the refrigerator yesterday, I pulled out a few leftover slices of that scrumptious garlic bread we had a few days ago with our pasta dinner. Not enough really to share again for another meal, this bread is too marvelous to waste (a practice that goes against my grain) so I decided to use it as a base for a zucchini and tomato lasagna. This dish is a keeper!!!
I began by slicing 4 or 5 small zucchini in half then slicing each half lengthwise into several thin slices (see photos above). I peeled and sliced 3 medium tomatoes and layered them with the zucchini slices in a colander with fresh basil leaves, parsley and thyme, generously scattered with salt and pepper. I left them to rest so the tomatoes could drain a bit while they and the zucchini slices would become herb infused. The aroma was heavenly.
After the mixture rested a bit I was ready to assemble my main course lasagna idea for our dinner.
I drizzled a bit of EVOO in the bottom of my 14″ enameled cast iron pan and placed as much of the garlic bread in the bottom as would fit. I then scooped a generous layer of ricotta cheese onto the top of each slice of bread along with a generous sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese.
Taking the zucchini slices out from the layers in the colander I began to place them around the sides of the cast iron pan and in the bare spaces on the bottom between the bread slices. I then added a layer of tomatoes topped with the fresh herbs. I randomly placed the remaining slices of bread, sliced into strips, on top of the first layers and added more dollops of ricotta and another generous sprinkle of Parmesan. I then added several cloves of roasted garlic. The scent of all this deliciousness was intoxicating. For those of you who love fresh herbs and roasted garlic, you know what I am describing. I layered the remaining zucchini and tomato slices with the herbs and topped it all with a generous sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
Now, as with a lot of my creations, there are no set rules here. If you want to add different cheeses and herbs, by all means DO. Anything goes. Red pepper flakes, oregano, a splash or two of wine or balsamic. Go for it. Let your inner chef and your taste buds shine.
Once I had the lasagna fully assembled I drizzled a bit more EVOO on top and started my oven to pre heat to 350 degrees. I covered the lasagna with tin foil and let it sit on the stove top until the oven was heated to temperature. I baked it covered for about 45 minutes (until the lasagna was bubbling in the middle), then removed the tin foil and baked it for another 15 minutes until the cheese began to brown slightly. I removed the lasagna from the oven and let it sit on the stove top for about 15 minutes before serving.
I don’t think I need to say how delectable and savory this lasagna was, but I will ! The slices of garlic bread were just enough for the base layer. Draining the tomatoes ensured the dish was not too juicy (save that juice by the way…add it to soups or freeze it until you can use it). There wasn’t much, maybe a half a cup, so I added it to the pot of corn chowder I had simmering on the stove. The fresh herbs make all the difference and with the prolific amount I have growing it would be a sin to not use them. The more the merrier.
I served bowls of steaming corn chowder ( made with left over corn from our dinner the night before) along with this lasagna; and our bellies were pleasantly plumped with deliciousness.
This is the season of fresh picked veggies and if you, like we, have a garden teeming with green and yellow and red, well then, your life, like ours…is filled with Many Blessings…