Zucchini Lasagna

Looking for a way to turn your favorite lasagna gluten-free? Thin slices of zucchini are used into of noodles in this rendition.

Welcome to this month’s Secret Recipe Club, featuring a recipe from Curious Cuisiniere. Digging through Sarah and Tim’s recipes you can tell that they like to play with their food using inspiration from their cultural history with recipes such as mango bbq chicken pizza, baked eggs in avocado, and peanut butter ravioli being among the many I bookmarked. But I have been wanting to try making lasagna using strips of zucchini as the noodles and when I saw their recipe I finally went for it. And I was excited to finally use my fancy mandoline. In the end it tasted just like traditional lasagna with thicker, more al dente noodles. Best gluten-free lasagna ever? Quite possibly.

One year ago: Corn-Goat Cheese Omelet

Three years ago: Chocolate Beer Truffles

Four years ago: Goat Cheese Stuffed Tomato-Basil Chicken Burgers

ZUCCHINI LASAGNA

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 8-inch zucchini (about 1.25 lb total)

1 tsp salt

1/2 lb (about 2 links) hot Italian turkey sausage, casings removed

1 medium onion, diced

1 small green pepper, diced

2 lb. tomatoes, diced

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

1/4 cup water

2 Tbsp red wine

1 bay leaf

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 fennel seeds

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp dried thyme

Pinch of cumin

1-3/4 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350⁰F. Lightly coat an 8xx-inch baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.
2. Slice zucchini lengthwise into 1/8-inch thick strips (if you do not have a mandoline to slice them that thin lengthwise, slice crosswise into discs). Lay strips on a paper towel and sprinkle salt over both sides. Set aside to sweat for 15-20 minutes.
3. While the zucchini sweats, crumble sausage in a large skillet and cook until browned. Add onion and green pepper and sauté for 3-5 minutes until soft. Stir in remaining ingredients (except cheese) and simmer, uncovered, 5-7 minutes or until sauce is thick and fragrant. Remove from the heat and remove bay leaf.
4. Pat zucchini slices dry. In the prepared baking dish layer 1 cup sauce, 1/3 of the zucchini slices, and 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat the layers two more times, but do not add the final 3/4 cup of cheese yet.
5. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover, top with the remaining cheese, and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the lasagna is bubbly in the center. Remove from the oven and let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.

Source: Adapted slightly from Curious Cuisiniere.