Broken Lasagna with Zucchini-Tomato Sauce

This recipe was in the July/August edition of the Food Network magazine--in fact, it's on the cover--and I've been dying to try it for about a week. Finally, today, I went for it. I did a half-portion, because only my mom and I would eat it, but I'd say even at half portion, this went very well.

Ingredients:
6 oz of lasagna noodles, broken into bite-sized pieces
1 large zucchini, grated coarsely
1 cup cherry tomatoes (1/2 whole, 1/2 halved)
1/4 tsp lemon zest
1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 grated mozzarella cheese
Salt and pepper

Boil water for the noodles, adding a little salt and better. Meanwhile, grate the zucchini and add about 1/2 tsp of salt. When the water is bubbling, toss in the noodles and turn the temp down to medium-high.

Strain the noodles, saving about a cup of the cooking water. Add a pinch of salt over the noodles as they hang out in the strainer. 

This step you can either do as the water boils and/or the noodles cook, but I chose to wait until they were done. Put the butter in the bottom of a skillet and melt over medium-high heat. Add the cherry tomatoes and allow to blister, about 4 minutes. 

Then add the zucchini and lemon zest, allowing to cook for about 4 more minutes. Then transfer to a medium sized bowl.

It's okay that it looks strange; it tastes good, I promise. Add a little bit of pepper to the pan-mixture before tossing it into the bowl.

Once in the bowl, stir up and add the noodles and cheese. Add about 1/4 cup of the cooking water you saved to loosen it up and stir all around. If everything is still really stuck together, add a tablespoon at a time of the water until it's separated. Now, plate and serve, garnishing with extra cheese.

I served it with fresh lemonade, but that has its own post.

Keep stirring, loves!