... here is the Zucchini Lasagna that some of you requested.
It's quite a bit of work to slice and dry the zucchini, but it's worth it because this is a really good recipe. Really good. It seems that everybody who tries it loves it. I slice the zucchini with a knife because I can't seem to get the cheese slicer thing going for me.
INGREDIENTS
3 large zucchini, washed but not peeled
2 teaspoons of salt, or less, as needed
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves minced
1 teaspoon fennels seeds
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 pound lean ground beef
1 (26 oz) jar marinara sauce (3 cups)
nonstick spray
1 1/2 cups fat-free ricotta
4 oz shredded fat-free mozzarella
1/4 cup pasteurized egg substitute
1 tsp freshly grated or ground nutmeg
1 tbsp whole wheat bread crumbs
2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS
1. Slice zucchini into long 1/4" thick strips with cheese plane. Dry zucchini by laying on paper towels and sprinkling both sides with salt. Let stand for 15 minutes, turning once as they sweat out moisture.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in saucepan set over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring until lightly browned, about 30 seconds. Add red pepper and fennel and cook for 30 seconds. Crumble in ground beef; stir and cook until browned, about 3 minutes. Stir in marinara sauce, bring to simmer, cover, reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 10 ,minutes.
3. Preheat over to 350F. Spray a 9" x 13" baking dish with nonstick spray.
4. Thoroughly combine ricotta, mozzarella, egg substitute, and nutmeg in large bowl and set aside.
5. Use fresh paper towels to wipe salt and moisture from zucchini strips. Gently squeeze the strips between fresh paper towels to remove any excess moisture, but take care not to crush or tear them.
6. Build lasagna by sprinkling the bottom of the prepared baking dish with 1 teaspoon bread crumbs. Lay 1/3 of zucchini slices in bottom of pan, overlapping as necessary. Spoon 1/3 of red sauce over them, then spread 1/2 cheese mixture over sauce. Sprinkle with 1 tsp bread crumbs, then layer 1/2 remaining zucchini. Spoon 1/2 remaining sauce over them, then spread the rest of the cheese mixture over top. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp of bread crumbs. Finish with remaining zucchini slices and sauce. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.
7. Bake until bubbling and quite hot, about 50 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Showing posts with label lasagna. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lasagna. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Sunday, February 25, 2007
About the Chicken ...
Hmmm, I guess ole AC confused a few of y'all when he wrote about purchasing a rotisserie chicken for lasagna. Actually, I'm quite glad of the confusion because it's nice to see someone other than me confused ... for a change. lol
It's very simple, really. I mostly do light cooking and have come across three recipes for lasagna, only one of which calls for the usual ground beef. And, no kidding, that one doesn't even use lasagna noodles. Really! For that recipe, I slice up three or four zucchinis which I use in place of the noodles. It's a very yummy dish actually, probably the best of the three lasagnas that I do. It's from Dr Phil's diet cookbook by the way.
The other two versions, including yesterday's, are from Crazy Plates by Janet and Greta Podleski. One is a vegetable dish, where I roast a combination of veggies as the main ingredient. Yesterday's lasagna simply calls for chicken as a variant. Just as they do for several other recipes, including Butter Chicken and Chicken Corn Chowder, the authors recommend using a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket because they are quite moist, tasty and pre-cooked.
Anyway, company came, and the lasagna was good. We chatted and laughed. One odd thing did happen though. A coffee shop featuring fair trade coffee has opened in the town that is the nearest neighbour to ours, so we decided give it a try. We trooped in, looked around, turned around, and left. You see, there were only three little tables, and they were each for two — and we were a group of four. Weird!
But that's okay! Canada's favourite coffee stop, Tim Hortons, was just around the corner. You can always rely on Tim's!
It's very simple, really. I mostly do light cooking and have come across three recipes for lasagna, only one of which calls for the usual ground beef. And, no kidding, that one doesn't even use lasagna noodles. Really! For that recipe, I slice up three or four zucchinis which I use in place of the noodles. It's a very yummy dish actually, probably the best of the three lasagnas that I do. It's from Dr Phil's diet cookbook by the way.
The other two versions, including yesterday's, are from Crazy Plates by Janet and Greta Podleski. One is a vegetable dish, where I roast a combination of veggies as the main ingredient. Yesterday's lasagna simply calls for chicken as a variant. Just as they do for several other recipes, including Butter Chicken and Chicken Corn Chowder, the authors recommend using a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket because they are quite moist, tasty and pre-cooked.
Anyway, company came, and the lasagna was good. We chatted and laughed. One odd thing did happen though. A coffee shop featuring fair trade coffee has opened in the town that is the nearest neighbour to ours, so we decided give it a try. We trooped in, looked around, turned around, and left. You see, there were only three little tables, and they were each for two — and we were a group of four. Weird!
But that's okay! Canada's favourite coffee stop, Tim Hortons, was just around the corner. You can always rely on Tim's!
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