Veggie Bake

I am marking this vegetarian, even though we used pancetta. The pancetta isn't necessary, but it added a nice flavor. You could just use olive oil instead, and maybe a dash of red wine or balsamic vinegar. This idea came to Mandi in our usual 3pm what do you want for dinner email discussion. She said she wanted to make vegetable lasagna, but use the veggies as the pasta and even as the sauce. We brainstormed for a bit and this is what we came up with. I love giving you guy's original recipes, so PLEASE let me know if you like this and if you ever cook it!

A lot of chopping to do.

Make these as thin as you can. A mandoline would help, but I already have a mandoline.

The sauce ingredients in place.

Meanwhile, mandoline is working away.

After this picture, I added diced onions, garlic, and cayenne. After one minute, I added the cauliflower.

Slice, slice, slice, slice.

This is after adding the spices.

WOW!

This is looking mashable.

Cheese and cauliflower are an obvious paring, and cauliflower is commonly paired with turmeric, coriander, curry and other middle eastern spices, but cheese does not usually go with these spices, so we were kind of taking a gamble. It turned out to be delicious!

All the fillings are ready.

Bottom shot, pre cooking.

There it is!

Letting this sit for 15 minutes was very hard. Luckily we were watching Mad Men, so the time went by very quickly!

The goal was to make this look like lasagna. I think we succeeded

An edge slice view

The Sauce-

Pancetta (sub olive oil with glug of red wine or balsamic vinegar)
Garlic, minced
Onions, minced
Cayenne, minced (sub cayenne powder, pepper flakes, or a different hot pepper)
Cauliflower, broken up
Cream
Sharp provolone, grated
Gruyere, grated
Parmesan or pecorino romano, grated
Turmeric - tablespoon
Coriander - teaspoon

Cook pancetta on high until crisp and fat is rendered (or heat oil and vinegar)
Add garlic, onions, and pepper, sauté for 1 minute
Add cauliflower pieces, turmeric and coriander, reduce heat to medium, stir and cover.
Cook for a half hour, stirring occasionally until cauliflower is breaky Mash mixture until somewhat smooth. It will be smoother if you didn't use the pancetta Add cream and cheese, stir until sauce is formed.

The Rest -

Layer thinly sliced zukini, summer squash, tomatoes, broccoli, the cauliflower sauce, and goat cheese in a baking dish. Top with remaining cheeses and bake at 350 for a half hour. Broil for 5 minutes before removing. Let sit for 10 to 15 of the longest minutes of your life!!!!!!