Zucchini Lasagna

This meal is my husbands favorite dish. I get proposed to every time. We’ve been married for just shy of 8 years at this point, so I have been proposed to A LOT.

There are a few key things that make my lasagna different than a traditional Italian lasagna. For starters, I don’t like ricotta cheese. So I don’t use it. I know I could use cottage cheese too, however I don’t care for that either. When available I like to mix mozzarella and jack cheese, but frequently the lasagna only receives mozzarella. I also don’t use noodles. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes a girl just wants a REAL lasagna. In that case I 100% will use noodles. Usually I will spoil myself and make homemade noodles. But this is a zucchini lasagna.

FYI

There are other options too like eggplant which we have done before but again, texture. Frying the eggplant and making it an ‘eggplant parm’ makes a big difference. If you’re still gung ho for noodles and you don’t want to make them from scratch, my recommendation is the ‘oven ready’ pasta sheets. They are in the same pasta aisle, usually on the top shelf when I see them.

I have made this lasagna with the zucchini cut into discs and length wise into long strips. The strips are easier/nicer for layering, but the majority of the ‘noodles’ are the inner seed area of the zucchini and they tend to fall apart and shred. The discs hold together much better but they scatter when you are trying to serve the lasagna and make the serving less beautiful. The texture of the discs, since the surface area is less seeded, has a crisp crunch when biting. The strips are less crisp unless eating a piece that happens to be one of the first slices that typically don’t have seeds. The consistency of the strip lasagna is like cheesy spaghetti with zoodles. Not terrible, but not what I am going for.

Ya, but how do I make it?

Glad you asked. Start with the sauce. Get it heating and build the flavor from there. I like to use pre-seasoned sauces rather than a plain tomato sauce. When the sauce has extra flavor and is very herbaceous before the recipe even begins, that’s the best.

While that is warming slowly, start your prep work. This is an on the go meal. I diced the onion, the garlic, the fresh basil, and the zucchini during this time. By the time I had finished that prep, the sauce had begun to do that weird simmer/boil that thicker liquids tend to do. You know what I’m talking about, the slow bubbles that splatter everywhere. I had a screen over it but still.

And then…

I got the meat cooking sometime during the prep work. The goal was a meat crumble consistency, and that can take some time. I would intermittently break up the meat *stab stab stab with the spatula* then go back to cutting the vegetables. Gotta make smart use of your time when you have a hungry family waiting.

I cooked the spicy pork sausage into an almost crisp texture first. That was planned so I could cook the ground turkey in the grease for both the flavor offerings and because turkey is a very lean meat anyways. The hubs and I are just not ground beef fans. If you are, go for it. But not me. I will usually use a turkey sausage in this recipe, but that was not something available to me at this time. I also wasn’t willing to make my own.

Keep on Juggling

With whatever grease is remaining in the pan, get the onion going. The color going in will be mostly white. I stir the onion around a bit to ensure that the pan bits evenly coat the onions. When the first few onions turn brown, add the garlic. Garlic tends to burn easy and onions take longer to cook. Always start the onions first! Alright, now that I have ingrained that life skill into you… When the onions are evenly brown outside but still white inside they are ready.

Don’t go to far past this point or you will caramelize the onions. Although that is DELICIOUS, it just isn’t the right thing for this dish. If you do happen to go that far, don’t waste it. Slather it on bread to soak up remaining sauce that you are bound to have when we’re done. Life skill #2 ladies and gentleman.

Hearty Tomato Soup

Add all the ingredients into the sauce and stir. At this point I usually pull out a bowl and just start eating it. I love it. I always have. Most of the sauces I have grown up eating I will eat as a soup. I guess I’m weird like that but I have no regrets!! Yum.

Let the sauce simmer/boil for around 15 minutes to get a good flavor boost. Plus we are trying to get the heat of the sauce up to help the zucchini soften and cook before it goes into the oven. After that time, ladle sauce into the baking dish. Don’t add to much like I did.

Final Boss Match

The goal of the first layer is to really just prevent sticking. The layer should be so thin you can still see the baking dish beneath. After that, add the zucchini all the way across the pan. Add more sauce on top sandwiching the zucchini in hot bubbly goodness starting their cooking process. Next comes cheese. Rinse and repeat until your pan runs out of room. I fit 9 layers into my pan. 10 if you count basil. Crazy!

After I got all that deliciousness into the pan, I garnished it with basil. Everything is better garnished with basil. Then I popped it into the oven 190C for 15 minutes. I assume most of you reading will be in America so you should use 375F instead.

Fun fact, my oven frustrates the crap out of me. I can do okay with weights and distances in metric, but temperature. Pfft, forget about it. Here is what I KNOW about metric temperature: in the winter I like when the thermostat is set to between 23 and 25, and in the summer I prefer that it hover between 19 and 21. I would love to say that I also know 375F is 190C but I cooked mine at 180 and when I looked it up I realized why I was disappointed in the bake. Whomp whomp. At least I am letting you know the right stuff.

Enjoy your hard work

Now the best part. Getting to eat this deliciousness. It truly is amazing. Even if it doesn’t look as pretty as pasta lasagna. This gives me happy tummy without the noodles and the hubby doesn’t mind so it stays on the menu. In all of its delicately placed plop goodness. Enjoy!

Zucchini Lasagna

Sauce

In a large pot combine:
4 Cans Seasoned Tomato Sauce (24 oz each)
1 Pound Ground Turkey (cooked, crumble consistency)
1 Pound Ground Sausage (cooked, crumble consistency)
2 Medium Yellow Onion (diced, cooked until brown on all edges)
4 Cloves Garlic (minced, cooked until brown on all edges)
2 Ounces Basil leaves (minced, about 2 small bushels , volume not weight)

Simmer 15 minutes. While sauce is hot, apply to baking dish to prevent sticking, use a very small amount.

Lasagna

Begin layering lasagna. Repeat in the order listed until no ingredients remain:
3 Zucchini (sliced, 1mm thin)
4 Scoops Sauce (heaping scoops, enough to fully cover the layer beneath)
16 Ounces Mozzarella Cheese (shredded)

Bake at 375F for 15 mintes. Garnish with basil before or after baking if desired.