Vegetarian Lasagna - Deconstructed I believe.....

Vegetarian Lasagna Recipes are not difficult to find when traveling through the bloggersphere and you can find pretty much every kind of vegetable featuring in this classic Italian dish. Butternut Squash, Aubergines, peppers and zucchinis are the most popular vegetable choices I have found in my search for a good Vegetarian Lasagna Recipe. However, I have to confess that lasagna does not feature often in this household, simply because I find it to be so time-consuming.......making the meat or tomato sauce or roasting the veggies, making the bechamel sauce AND cooking the pasta.





After all that, it still has to bake......no, no, no.... way too many pots and dirty dishes and way too much effort for this busy cook. Please don't get me wrong, I do make lasagna once in a while, but then I "go big or go home!!" I cook up a storm, invite a crowd and  it

all seems worth the effort. For the four of us in the family, I needed something a lot easier, less time consuming and still big on taste.......mmmm, let me think.....



I  read an article the other day about deconstructed food and found it most interesting. According to the article, deconstructed food is to take the different parts of the dish, separate them and then use them differently.However,the pieces should be recognizable by themselves but when eaten together should bring about the idea of the original dish. Sounds confusing? Well not really. I took the different elements of a vegetarian lasagna, separated them  and served them in a totally different form, but we could all taste it was lasagna and the elements of a typical lasagna was still their, just differently arranged...lighter, more refreshing and definitely healthier than your typical vegetable lasagna. So stick around for my version of .....



For the Pesto you can use my easy recipe or buy at a deli in your area. For this dish, I kept the pesto course and chunky. In a oven proof skillet, pour a few glugs of olive oil and add the tomatoes, thyme and unpeeled garlic cloves. Roast in the oven until the garlic is soft and the tomatoes have broken up, but it must not be mushy at all. They must still hold their shape. Get a pot of water boiling, add some salt and cook your pasta sheets for 4-5 minutes if using fresh or longer if using dry pasta sheets.

Now arrange the 2 pasta sheets on each plate in a wave-like manner. Arrange the tomatoes and garlic around it and dress with the lusciously green pesto. Finish off with some parmesan shavings, black pepper and some of the roasting juices from the tomatoes.

I will submit this dish to Presto Pasta Nights.This is the idea of Ruth over at Once Upon a Feast who celebrates pasta every week. The event is being hosted this week by Chaya of Sweet and Savory . Pop over to Chaya's site on Friday for the round-up of delicious pasta dishes.Better yet, send you pasta recipes in as well so that we can all share in the fun....



Feel like more pasta...why not try my easy...



Biltong and Butternut pasta