Zucchini Lasagna

Lasagna is a lovely dish. It has the signature layers, the richness, tomato sauce and of course cheese. Although often made with lasagna noodles, why not reduce the carbs and replace the noodles with zucchini (courgette)? Doing so brightens up the dish and takes out the heaviness while retaining the richness that every lasagna should have.

Ingredients (Serves 4-6)

Olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. ground beef or turkey
24 oz. tomato sauce
1 teaspoon oregano
2 sprigs fresh basil, chopped
16 oz. shredded mozzarella plus more for topping
½ cup freshly grated parmesan plus more for serving
2 eggs
4 medium zucchini (courgettes), cut in 1/8 inch thick slices
Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350ºF/180ºC/Gas Mark 4 and heat a large skillet over medium.

Add some olive oil into the skillet along with the onion and garlic. Cook until softened and fragrant. Add the ground meat into the skillet and brown. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Pour the tomato sauce into the pan with the browned meat, add in the oregano, basil and simmer for 10-12 minutes.

As the meat sauce is simmering, combine the mozzarella, parmesan cheese and egg in a bowl to make the mixture for the cheese layer. Mix until the egg is evenly distributed into the cheese.

Direct your attention to the sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

When the sauce and cheese mix is done, lightly coat a 9 by 13 inch baking dish with oil and arrange the slices of zucchini in an even later on the bottom. Top this layer with half of the meat sauce and a layer of the cheese mixture. Repeat the layers and finish with zucchini.

Top with mozzarella cheese and cover the lasagna with foil. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes before removing the foil and returning it to the oven for an additional 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven, cool for about 5 minutes, plate and serve with a little parmesan cheese if desired.