Life at Cloverhill

Recipe

Zucchini Lasagna

After having great success with using spaghetti squash in lieu of pasta, I decided to do another Italian inspired recipe. The second that I saw some zucchini on sale at the grocery store, I knew that this is what I wanted to make. 

Lets be honest here, even if you used low fat ricotta, low fat mozzarella and extra lean ground beef, this is still not a “healthy” dinner, but its considerably healthier than what you’ll get at restaurants and from the frozen food section of your grocer. I also found that I didn’t notice that much of a difference without the pasta, it just wasn’t as extra heavy as it can be with pasta.


What you’ll need:


2 medium Zucchini

1 lb Extra Lean Ground Beef

1 cup Onion, diced
3 cloves of Garlic, minced
1 (28 oz) can of Plum Tomatoes
2 tbsp Tomato Paste
1 tbsp Fresh Basil
1 tbsp Fresh Oregano
1/2 tsp Sugar
Salt & Pepper
15 oz Ricotta Cheese
16 oz Mozzarella
1/4 cup Grated Parmesan
1 large Egg



Remove ends and slice zucchini in half.


Slice zucchini into 1/4″-1/8″ strips. 


Lay on paper towel, sprinkle with salt and allow vegetables to “sweat” for about an hour.


You can continue to make the sauce and cheese mixture while you wait!



Preheat oven to 375°F.

Brown beef in a skillet on medium heat.


Add onions and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds. 


Squish tomatoes with your hands and add to skillet, bringing to a boil. Add basil, oregano and sugar. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes to thicken. Check for seasoning, being careful to remember that there may be extra salt on the zucchini.

Meanwhile, prepare cheese mixture, blending ricotta, parmesan and egg.
Pat the moisture off the zucchini slices and rub off any excess salt.


Spread a thin layer of meat sauce on bottom of a 9″x12″ pan and layer with zucchini slices.


Spread a layer of cheese mixture over zucchini and top with mozzarella.


Add another layer of sauce and continue layering zucchini, cheese mixture and mozzarella.


End with a final layer of mozzarella and cover with tin foil. Bake covered for 45 minutes.


Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes uncovered. Let stand for 5-10 minutes.


Both the boyfriend and I really loved this recipe and we’ll definitely be keeping this recipe for future dinners!

Just to show you how much the boyfriend loved this dinner, I grabbed what seemed like a big piece (on the right) and on the left is what he chose. Almost a year of cooking for him and I still get shocked by his food portions. I wish that I had the stomach to be able to eat that much!


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