I’ve become a big fan of hiding veggies in traditional comfort food dishes. Butternut squash macaroni and cheese, portabella pizza, spaghetti squash “noodles” with marinara, cauliflower mashed “potatoes”…the list goes on and on. So far, the Mini seems to be a big fan of all of these foods, too. This lasagna recipe is my latest attempt at cleaning up comfort food.
I substituted very thinly sliced zucchini for lasagna noodles, and I snuck in some other veggies as well…
Just be sure to use a deep, sturdy pan for the lasagna. All of the veggies and meat make for a very hearty lasagna, so if you have to use an aluminum pan, at least bake it on top of a cookie sheet.
In the spirit of staying healthy and staying away from simple, refined carbs, we ate our zucchini lasagna with cheesy cauliflower breadsticks. I’ll post that recipe later this week.
Zucchini Lasagna
Ingredients
2 to 3 large zucchini
1 tbs salt
1 lb lean ground beef or ground turkey breast
1 onion, diced
1 1/2 tsp pepper
16 oz tomato sauce
1 c tomato paste
1/4 c red wine
2 tbs chopped fresh basil
2 tbs chopped fresh oregano
15 oz part-skim ricotta cheese
2 tbs chopped fresh parsley
8 oz sliced, fresh mushrooms
3 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
8 oz Parmesan cheese, grated or shaved
Preheat oven to 325F. Lightly spray a 9×13″ lasagna pan with nonstick cooking spray (use a sturdy, deep pan).
Slice the zucchini lengthwise into very thin slices, about the thickness of a lasagna noodle. Lay the zucchini slices out onto a baking sheet lined with tea towels or paper towels. Sprinkle the salt over the zucchini slices, and let drain while preparing the sauce and cheese.
In a large skillet, brown ground beef over medium high heat for 5 minutes. Add pepper and onion, and cook until meat is no longer pink. Stir in tomato sauce, paste, wine, basil and oregano. The sauce will be very thick (the veggies will add water to the lasagna, so don’t add water), so stir constantly as you bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
In a mixing bowl, combine together egg, ricotta, and parsley.
Pat zucchini dry with towels. Spread half of the sauce into the bottom of the lasagna pan. Lay half of the zucchini slices across the sauce evenly (try not to leave any gaps). Spread half of the ricotta mixture over the zucchini slices. Distribute all of the spinach leaves evenly across the ricotta, followed by the mushrooms. Sprinkle half of the mozzarella cheese across the top. Layer the remaining meat sauce, zucchini slices, ricotta, and mozzarella. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese evenly across the top.
Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and raise oven temperature to 350F and bake an additional 30 minutes. Let lasagna stand 10 minutes before serving.
