Italian Layered Vegetable Casserole

I'm happy to announce that FatFree Vegan Kitchen has been chosen as the featured blog in this month's Tried & Tasted, a blog event started by Zlamushka's Spicy Kitchen and hosted this month by Vaishali at Holy Cow! The idea is simple: For the month of May, any interested blogger can choose a recipe from my blog, make it, and blog about it. At the end of the month, Vaishali will be posting a round-up of all the participants. So, if you've been thinking of making something from this blog, now is a good time; blogging events are a great way to get your blog noticed and attract new readers. Get the details on exactly what you need to do at Holy Cow!

I usually do a little trying and tasting of my own recipes before I post them to the blog. I may make a recipe two or three different ways, trying to get it just right or to make it a little easier to prepare or more nutritious. Usually the final version is better than the first one. Here's a recipe, however, that started out great but thanks to my "healthifying" efforts wound up significantly less delicious than the original.

I'd already take the photos you see here before I served the dish to my family and got a "meh" reaction. Everyone agreed that the white bean filling was not an adequate substitute for the original tofu filling. (I'm trying to limit tofu to just once a week, and using white beans instead is one of my not-so-bright ideas.) So what to do? We loved the original tofu version, but I had no photos of it; I had plenty of relatively good-looking photos of the bean version, but we weren't thrilled with the recipe. In the end, I decided to post the recipe with links to the tofu filling so that you can have the choice of which way to make it. Just one suggestion: If you're going to make this for Tried & Tasted, please use the tofu filling. Pretty please?



Italian Layered Vegetable Casserole
(printer-friendly version)

2 medium eggplants
1 large or 2 medium zucchini, sliced thinly (or 2-4 cups sliced vegetables of your choice, such as mushrooms)
chopped parsley, garnish

Sauce (or use 28 ounces of prepared pasta sauce):

1/2 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar or other sweetener (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Creamy Bean Filling (or use tofu filling from this recipe):

1 15-ounce can great northern beans
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 cup spinach, firmly packed

Peel the eggplants, if desired (this makes the casserole easier to cut). Cut into 1/4-inch slices. Pre-cook the slices until they are partially dehydrated:

• To microwave, cover the bottom of the microwave with two layers of paper towels. Place eggplant slices in a single layer and cook on high power for 8-10 minutes, until reduced in size and beginning to shrivel. Repeat with remaining eggplant.
• To pre-cook in the oven, place on a silicone baking mat or parchment-covered baking sheet. Bake at 450 F until slices are shriveled but not brown or crispy.

Remove immediately from paper towels or baking sheet and place on a plate.



While the eggplant is cooking, prepare the sauce, if you're making it from scratch. Sauté the onion in a non-stick skillet until softened; add the garlic and cook for another minute. Set aside. Remove 1/2 cup of the diced tomatoes and set aside. Put remaining tomatoes and sauce ingredients into blender and blend until smooth. Add reserved tomatoes and onions to blender and stir to combine (do not blend).

Prepare the filling by placing all ingredients into a food processor and processing until smooth.

Preheat oven to 425. Spray a mid-sized rectangular casserole dish (I used 11x7-inch) with canola oil or non-stick spray. Put a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of the dish--just barely enough to cover the bottom. Arrange 1/3 of the eggplant slices over the sauce. Spread 1/2 of the filling over the eggplant, and put half of the zucchini or other vegetables over the filling. Drizzle lightly with sauce. Repeat eggplant, filling, zucchini, and sauce. Place the final layer of eggplant over the top, and pour the remaining sauce evenly over it, spreading it to cover the eggplant completely.



Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes. Check to make sure that zucchini is cooked and sauce has thickened; if not, add more time. Remove when done and allow to sit for a few minutes before serving. Sprinkle with chopped parsley as garnish.

Makes 6 servings. Per serving: 172 Calories (kcal); 1g Total Fat; (5% calories from fat); 10g Protein; 35g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 424mg Sodium; 10g Fiber. Weight Watchers Core/3 Points.

With tofu filling: 183 Calories (kcal); 5g Total Fat; (22% calories from fat); 14g Protein; 24g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 452mg Sodium; 10g Fiber. Weight Watchers Core/3 Points.