Colorful Italian squash bake adds Mediterranean flair to dinner

This Italian squash bake is a true work horse.

Want an easy, make-ahead weeknight side dish? This will do the trick. Hosting both vegetarians and meat eaters for dinner? Serve Italian squash bake along with grilled chicken or fish on the side for the carnivores, and you'll be all set.

Since the recipe is quite flexible, you can easily make as much or as little as you need. The colors of the vegetable slices are pretty, juxtaposed against one another, making this a company-worthy recipe with zero last-minute prep.

A quick note to parents: Once you've sliced up the veggies, let your little ones do the layering - it's a great way to include them in the vegetable cookery of dinnertime. And you almost can't mess this up, aside from the aesthetics.

My daughter, who loves to help me make this, even considers it a (lightened-up) version of lasagna. She's actually not too far off. This Mediterranean-style squash bake is inspired by a tian, which is a Provençal dish named after the earthenware baking vessel traditionally used to make it. A tian typically is loaded with veggies, and then is often topped with lamb or salty pork.

My squash version gets its flavor from calorie-free herbs, lemon juice and garlic cloves instead, plus just enough satisfying fat from a light dusting of cheese added in the final stages of baking. Since squash only packs in about 10 calories in a half-cup serving (and surprisingly only about a gram of sugar), a little cheese is the perfect touch of comfort. Bringing Mediterranean flair to your weeknight cooking routine might be just the thing your autumn needs.