This recipe originated when I lived in St Louis and had a
good sized garden. Once you’ve planted zucchini you will realize that it’s very
prolific. I was trying to come up with
recipes to use it in a new and different way. This is what I came up with – lasagna.
Now it’s not a true lasagna, its more of
a zucchini parmesan. But I prefer to call it lasagna since I used slices of
zucchini instead of noodles, layered with sauce and cheese. Whatever you call it, it’s a delicious way to
use your abundance of zucchini. This
recipe could be made vegetarian very easily by substituting mushrooms for the
sausage. If you do I would add a little sprinkle of fennel seeds just to give
that sausage flavor.
This recipe isn’t a quick recipe so I thought it would be a
good one for #SundaySupper. I made my
components from scratch but I’m sure that if you want to use ready- made sauce,
that would be fine. But add a splash of red wine, trust me, you’ll thank me
later.
To make zucchini lasagna you’ll need:
4 large zucchini thinly sliced by using a mandolin or a
sharp knife
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
For sauce:
1 large onion diced
Olive oil
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
Italian sausage, about 3 links
1 large can crushed tomatoes
Splash of red wine
Dried basil
Dried parsley
Red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper
Ricotta cheese (2 large rounded spoonfuls)
8 ounces of shredded mozzarella cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large skillet add enough olive oil to cover the bottom.
Once the oil is hot add slices of zucchini (being sure not to crowd the pan)
and cook until the zucchini is soft. It’s not necessary to brown, just cook
until pliable. These will be used in the place of lasagna noodles. You will have to cook the zucchini in
batches. As they cook remove them from the pan and set aside.
For the Sauce:
In a large high sided skillet add enough oil to cover the
bottom. Once the oil is hot add the onion
and cook until translucent but not browned. Once the onions are cooked add the
garlic and season with salt and pepper.
Cook the garlic for a minute or two.
Add the sausage to the pan and crumble.
Once the meat is brown deglaze the pan with a splash of red wine (about ¼
cup) and season with salt and pepper, red pepper flakes, dried basil and dried
parsley. Add the large can of crushed
tomatoes. Bring the sauce to a boil then
simmer until all the zucchini are cooked.
Add in a couple of large spoonfuls of ricotta and stir. The sauce will
blush.
To assemble:
Layer the bottom of a casserole dish with enough zucchini “noodles”
to cover. Ladle the sauce on top of the
noodles, the cover with mozzarella. Repeat the layers until all the ingredients
are used.
Bake the casserole in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or
until the cheese is melted and the lasagna is bubbling. Serve with some warm, crusty bread and a salad.
It's a great way to cook fresh from the garden.
Happy #SundaySupper!
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