This beautiful deliciousness is an adaptation of a recipe I found on allrecipes.com. I make it with meat, but you could easily leave that out if you prefer veggie lasagna.
This may be heresy to some people, but I really wanted an amazing lasagna without the noodles. I found that in this recipe. Since there's no pasta in it, it's low-carb and super simple to make gluten-free, too. Just make sure there's no hidden gluten in the ingredients you choose. Layering the top with grated Parm gives it a gorgeous, satisfying "crust," too. Mmmm! A treat for your eyes and your mouth!
Now let's get to it.
PASTA-FREE ZUCCHINI LASAGNA
time: 1 hour 30 minutes serves: at least 8
2 medium to large zucchini 1 T salt
1 lb very lean ground beef 1 1/2 t black pepper
1 diced green pepper 1 diced onion
28 oz can Italian seasoned diced tomatoes, undrained
Chopped fresh basil and fresh oregano, to taste (1-2 Tablespoon-ish)
Hot water, as needed 1 egg
15 oz ricotta cheese Handful chopped fresh spinach
1 lb sliced mushrooms, if desired 2 T chopped fresh parsley
8 oz shredded mozzarella 8 oz grated Parmesan
Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 13x9 baking dish.
Slice zucchini lengthwise into thin slices. Sprinkle slices with salt; set aside to drain in a colander.
For meat sauce:
Cook and stir ground beef and black pepper in a large skillet for 5 minutes over med-high heat. Add green pepper and onion. Cook and stir until meat is no longer pink. Stir in tomatoes, basil and oregano, adding hot water as needed if sauce is too thick. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
For cheese mixture:
Stir egg, ricotta, and parsley together until well combined.
Assembly:
Layer in baking dish -
1/2 of meat sauce
1/2 the zucchini slices
1/2 the ricotta mixture
all the spinach
all the mushrooms
1/2 the mozzarella
remaining meat sauce
remaining zucchini
remaining ricotta mixture
remaining mozzarella
all the Parmesan
Cover with foil.
Baking:
Bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil; raise oven temperature to 350, and bake for 15 minutes more. Let stand for at least 5 minutes before serving.
With all these veggies in it, this is a well rounded meal all by itself. But it's nice with a simple side salad and a slice of true sourdough bread (made without yeast), if you're not concerned with eating low-carb or gluten-free. You can also increase, decrease or omit the green pepper, onion, spinach, mushrooms, and herbs to suit your taste.
Mangiamo!