Recipe: Meaty Zucchini Lasagna

After scoring great food finds at my favorite grocery store (Trader Joe's) yesterday, I finally gathered enough strength to return to the kitchen and cook up a storm. 

For tonight's menu, I experimented on using zucchini as a main ingredient for meaty, noodle-less lasagna. It's an easy, uncomplicated dish with a twist if you're looking for ways to eat more vegetables but can't seem to get rid of your love for meat.

I'm no expert on The Paleo Diet, but to those of you following it, this dish might just be perfect for you (if you exclude the three kinds of cheese I put in it --and of course, this is why I personally cannot thrive on this diet. I simply cannot live without my cheese!).

I honestly set my expectations low for this one, but I was pleasantly surprised that it turned out pretty good. Without further adiue, here's the first ever home-made recipe I will be sharing. Enjoy! 

Meaty Zucchini Lasagna
(Disclaimer: No exact measurements in my recipes; I unfortunately don't really use exact measurements. I know I should start doing so, but I just cook with the senses and according to taste. I promise to improve more in the future.)

 

Ingredients:

- 1.5 lbs Ground Beef

- 1/2 of a Large Sweet White Onion (Finely Chopped)

- 2 Cloves of Garlic (Minced)

- Sliced White Mushrooms

- Chopped Fresh Basil

- Bottled Marinara Sauce (Now, I used a Basil Tomato Marinara Sauce, but you can also start from scratch by combining Tomato Paste and Tomato Sauce and mix according to taste)

- Olive Oil

- Salt

- Black Pepper (Freshly Ground)

- 2 tbsp. White Sugar

- 2 Zucchini (Slice into long rounds)

- 3 kinds of Cheese: Crottin (Fresh Goat Cheese), Shredded Mozzarella & Grated Parmesan

A. Red Sauce

1. Heat up a pan with a dash of olive oil

2. Sautee the garlic and onion until chopped onion becomes transluscent

3. Cook the ground beef until tender and brown

4. When the beef has cooked through, add the white mushrooms and allow to soften in the heat

5. Mix in the chopped fresh basil, then pour in the bottled Marinara Sauce

6. (Now this is where your creativity comes to play) Mix all the ingredients together in the pan, then add  a couple pinches of salt, pepper and approx. 2 tablespoons of sugar; You may continue adding more of these according to taste if there is a need; The sauce should be salty-sweet with just the right amount of spice (or you can even make it spicier if you want)

7. Add in the Goat Cheese and allow to melt while stirring

8. Allow to cook and simmer until ready

B. Zucchini

 - I suggest pre-cooking the Zucchini. One mistake I've done in this experiment was that I pre-baked the Zucchini with bread crumbs before stacking them for my lasagna (with the hope that it'll add more crunch to the dish). This seemed like a good idea at first, but after I baked it the second time, it turned out pretty useless since I could barely taste the difference or any crunch at all once it combined with the sauce.  So maybe it's better to just blanch the zucchini next time before stacking it to bake. Also, I've seen others slice their veggies in long strips as opposed to circles.

C. Stacking to Bake

- Take a baking pan, and grease it with a couple drops of olive oil

- Pour  a thin layer of the sauce into the pan

- Arrange the zucchini slices on the pan

- sprinkle with grated parmesan

- pour a second layer of sauce on top of the zucchini

(at this point, decide on how many layers you want to make; I opted to stop here because I personally don't like biting into a thick layer of veggies and lose the taste of the rest of the dish)

- Top the lasagna with shredded mozzarella

- May garnish with some chopped parsley

- Finally, bake for approximately 30-45 minutes

 

Voila!!! You have yourself a yummy and healthy Meaty Zucchini Lasagna! Enjoy!