In my mission to cook good, fairly healthy food, I discovered this pasta-less lasagna recipe a few years ago. It's actually sooooooo good that you don't even miss the pasta. Now, this is a big deal for me to say because I LOVE all things starchy (bread, potatoes, pasta, rice....yum!). But to not miss the pasta????? It's THAT good!
Now, there are several little tricks that I've discovered along the way to make this recipe really good. Trick #1, if you don't have a mandolin - get one! It makes cutting the zucchini into even slices soooooo much faster and easier.
Trick #2, you HAVE TO remove the excess water!!!! In a traditional lasagna, the pasta absorbs all the water created by the veggies and that's what helps cook the pasta. In this recipe, there is NO PASTA and so the water just accumulates around the sides and corners of the dish. I always leave a space at the end of the dish I'm using for the water to accumulate in which means DO NOT pack the entire dish with the zucchini and lasagna ingredients. I've found it to be soooooo much easier to remove the water by using a turkey baster! Yes, a turkey baster! Now there's one other time a year you can use it! I remove the water about half way through cooking and then again after the lasagna has had time to rest. Which brings me to Trick #3 - you MUST let the lasagna rest. I'd say at least an hour! This will allow more water to release and will also help the lasagna bind! This is one of those dishes that even better the next day too!
Now for the recipe. I don't have a Pinterest one to share for this because I saw it on TV one day and just replicated it myself, but I've checked and there are tons of Pinterest recipes out there if you need another guide! Just fyi - I used 4 zucchinis for this recipe!
Here's what I do:
1. Make the meat sauce! It is super important to make the meat sauce the way you and your family love it! It's the center of the dish and it's why I think my lasagna tastes sooooo good! I make mine from scratch by grated an entire onion over a package of 80% ground chuck in a pot. I add salt, pepper, cumin, a touch of cinnamon, a bay leaf, and a bouillon cube to it and allow it to cook down. Once the meat has turned brown, I add a can of crushed tomatoes, a can of tomato paste, and some brown sugar. I stir all the tomato in and then allow it to simmer for about a half an hour and then remove the bay leaf.
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| We like to use this bouillon instead of the Maggie cubes whenever we can |
2. Chop up all the veggies your family likes. I usually use up whatever I have in the fridge. Chop them into smaller pieces so that they make a similar sized layer of veggies. For the one I made today, I had mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, parsley, and some sweet peppers. I place all the veggies I chop up into a bowl together. I have a veggie seasoning that I like to use and sprinkled that over them veggies and stirred them up.
3. Slice up the zucchini using a mandolin! This makes nice, even pieces to help you layer your lasagna. You are using the zucchini slices INSTEAD of the lasagna pasta, so make sure they're not too thin and give you a little bit of a bite while eating the lasagna. This actually makes you feel like there's pasta in it when there's not!
4. Layer your lasagna! Spray your dish so that nothing sticks to the bottom then add a thin layer of sauce to the bottom of the pan. Layer the zucchini down first, top it with the seasoned veggies, add a layer of meat sauce, then top with a layer of cheese (I like to use a mix of cheese - I used parmesan, cheddar, and mozzarella. If your family likes ricotta or just mozzarella - go for it!). Then repeat these layers one more time. Top the lasagna off with another layer of sliced zucchini, a thin layer of sauce, and some cheese.
5. Bake at 375 degrees F for about 45 minutes. Make sure to check half way through to see if you need to drain some of the water.
6. Allow to sit for about an hour and remove water as needed.
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| My lunch today! After having the lasagna rest for about an hour and a half! |
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