Elaine McCardel's Zucchini Lasagna

(Picture from The Italian Dish)

This recipe was recommended by Megan T. She found it over at Elaine McCardel's blog,
The Italian Dish. I contacted Elaine to see if she would let me post it here, and she graciously consented. You should definitely check out her blog, especially if you'd like to see some pictures of each step in the recipe.  

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds large zucchini, scrubbed
• 1 quart spaghetti sauce or thick tomato sauce
• 1 cup bread crumbs *
• 1 pound ricotta cheese (more, if you like - the original recipe calls for 2 pounds)
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 Tablespoons parsley, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon each dried oregano, basil
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 1 pound mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated

Directions:

1. Slice zucchini into long slices.  Cook in boiling water just until limp, about 5 minutes.  Drain on paper towels.
2. Combine ricotta, eggs, parsley, seasoning and half of the parmesan cheese and half of the bread crumbs in a bowl.  Set aside.
3. In a 9x13 pan, spoon a thin layer of tomato sauce.  Sprinkle with a quarter of the bread crumbs.  Arrange layer of zucchini over this. Spoon half of the reserved ricotta mixture on top of the zucchini.  Sprinkle with half the mozzarella cheese.  Arrange the rest of the zucchini over this, layer more tomato sauce and the rest of the bread crumbs and top with remaining ricotta mixture.  Top with remaining mozzarella and parmesan.
4. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 1 hour or until top is brown.  Let stand 20 minutes before cutting.

* When using bread crumbs, try making your own. Take any kind of bread you like, even leftover stale bread that you may want to throw away, and place in your food processor and grind until fine. Keep in a plastic container in the fridge and they will last a long time. Fresh bread crumbs are superior to what you can buy in the grocery store.