Meatless Monday - Layered Pasta Bake

I came across a cookbook by Linda McCartney a few months ago at our local library - Linda McCartney's World of Vegetarian Cooking. For a cookbook with such a cheesy name, it's actually got quite a few good recipes in it.

I'm going to share one that we tried last week - a Greek Layered Pasta Bake. I was a little concerned about how all of the flavors would meld together, but it turned out great. My daughter liked it a lot. She especially like the zucchini chunks. My son picked at the pasta but did his best to avoid the sauce and zucchini - typical. My husband and I both thought it was delicious.


Layered Pasta Bake

14 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup tomato puree
1 cup water
1 tsp dried thyme
2 cloves garlic, minced
10 sun-dried tomatoes, crushed (I used oil packed sun-dried tomatoes)
8 oz crumbled feta
3 cups dried pasta (penne or fusilli or rigatoni)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 medium zucchini, sliced
1/2 cup cheddar, grated
freshly chopped basil to garnish

In a medium saucepan, simmer the tomatoes, tomato puree, and water with the thyme, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes. When the sauce has reduced and thickened a little (about 8-10 min), add the feta. Meanwhile, cook the pasta. Drain, and mix thoroughly with the tomato sauce.

Saute the onion and zucchini for about 5 min. (I think that I sauteed a little longer. My onions and zucchini were just starting to brown a bit.)

Spread half of the pasta mixture in a 13x9 baking dish and layer the zucchini mixture on top. Cover with the rest of the pasta mixture. Top with cheese and bake at 350 F for 20 min. Garnish with fresh basil before serving.