Recipe Time!

I just made a Zucchinlasagna ala Putenesca. It is a meatless, dairy less (vegan) lasagna using zucchini sliced on the mandolin for the noodles.

To make it you really need a mandolin slicer to get the "noodles" thin enough. I think it should be called a kitchen guillotine, but that is a story more related to some missing finger tips that I'll save for later. BE CAREFUL and use the attachment when you use your mandolin, unless there's a hot ER Doc that you like and want to visit, that is.

On my mandolin I set the depth down 2 clicks which is about 1/8 in I think. I used 2 zucchini that were between 10 and 12" so the small grocery store ones you'd need maybe 6 of. It is important to note that if you don't buy organic zucchini you are likely buying a GMO one. Use your own judgment here.

I used the same setting for a large red onion and then sautéed the onion in a little olive oil with a little salt and pepper until soft.

I cook on gas so I was able to scorch the skin on 2 bell peppers over open flames. You just place them over the flame and turn until most of the surface is black and then put them in a bag and close it to steam the skin loose a little - 5-10 minutes. Then use your hand to rub the skin off. I run a little cold water and rinse my hands off, but not the pepper. You'll lose flavor if you rinse it. Then ditch the stem and seeds and chop into long skinny strips. If you don't have gas or a gas BBQ you can use the oven on 400 and you need to slightly brush them with olive oil before.

Paully's Antipasto Putanesca Sauce.

I was light on groceries one day and used what I had around and it turned out great so I made it a regular. Here it is.

2 - 15 oz cans of Organic crushed or diced tomatoes (if diced blend them for a little to make more of a sauce out of them, but reserve some chunks.)
4-6 cloves of garlic
1 - 15 oz can of Quartered Artichoke hearts in water.  (Try the bargain market for these) Make sure to pull ant of the stiffer outer leaves and drain well.
1-2 Tbsp Capers They are kind of salty so adjust to your own tastes.
1/2 - 3/4 cup chopped olives - I use mostly Kalamatas with a few Stuffed Green Jumbos.
4-8 Pepperoncinis  chopped. Depending on heat you might want to start with a few and work your way up. I pop the stem off over the pan so I can use the juice in the sauce as well.
Fresh Basil, Oregano, Thyme and Rosemary to taste. I use about 1/2 cup total chopped.
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Add a little olive oil to the large pan you sautéed the onions in and added the chopped garlic for a minute or so and then add the tomatoes. Add everything else except the herbs and cook for 10 minutes on medium - medium high heat. This sauce needs to be thick because the zucchini will sweat a lot. Add the herbs for the last minute or two.

Put a layer of the sauce in a casserole (9 x12). Add a layer of the zucchini. Add a thin layer of onion and then another layer of zucchini. Now another layer of sauce goes on followed by more zucchini. Then add the rest of the onions and the peppers and another layer of zucchini. Now finish with the remaining sauce and bake at 375 covered with foil for 30 - 40 minutes. If you want to add some cheese you can add it after the covered bake and bake uncovered until the cheese melts. I recommend just shaving some Peccorino Romano over the finished product just before serving for whoever wants it.

If that sounds too complicated just set your mandolin to the julienne setting and make zucchini spaghetti instead. For this you want to add the onions and peppers to the sauce and then toss the "noodles with the sauce for 2-3 minutes. They will be nice and al dente and people may not even notice they aren't pasta.