Wednesday, March 5, 2008

It's Better Gluten-Free Lasagna


Who needs noodles? This recipe came to me shortly after my test results came back positive for Celiacs... And it's wonderous. Thinly sliced Zucchini take the place of the noodles. And let's all be honest, zucchini is significantly better for you then noodles. I hope you have a mandolin - it's a lot easier to manage the zucchini, but if not - just old school it and slice 'em thin by hand.

1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1 medium onion chopped
1 clove of garlic chopped
1 store bought smallish box of button mushrooms -sliced
1 jar of Newman's Own "Sakarooni" sauce (I highly recommend...) or 1 8-ounce jar tomato sauce, 1 6-ounce can tomato paste and 1 14-ounce can stewed diced tomatoes
5-8 Zucchini (aim for the higher number if the Zucchini run small)
2 large eggs
2 cups cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
1 cup shredded mozzerella
1 cup shredded chedder
salt, pepper, seasoning salt

Preheat oven to 375.
Thinly slice all the zucchini lengthwise, we're not looking for medallions. I'm talking as thin as you can get. This is where a mandolin would be useful. Just be careful of your fingers in any case. Put all the sliced zucchini in a large pot and fill till the zucchini are floating. Put on medium heat and bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. (I know you're treating the zucchini like noodles - that's the idea!) Take them off the heat when their done and strain.
Oil the bottom of the 9x13 pan and spread a little sauce in the bottom as well. In a LARGE saute pan add some oil and saute the meat, onion, mushrooms, and garlic until the meat is cooked through. Drain of excess fat and then return everything to the pan. Add the Sockarooni (it's such a fun name!) sauce or the tomato mixture. Simmer it all for about 10 minutes. It smells so good at this point...
While the meat is simmering in the delicious goodness of the sauce, whisk together the eggs, cottage cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan, parsley, salt, pepper, and seasoning salt. Have the grated chedder and mozzarella ready.
Now for the fun part.
In your 9x13 pan, layer the zucchini like you would lasagna noodles, overlap them just a bit and cover the whole bottom of the pan. Then, spread half of the cottage cheese mixture. THEN, sprinkle half the chedder and mozzarella cheese over that! THEN, spread half of the meat mixture on top of that!! Phew. First half is done. Layer the zucchini again, like you did before, followed by the cottage cheese mixture, then the cheese, then the meat. And to top it all off: Sprinkle some Parmesan on top.
Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until sauce is bubbly. Let it stand 10-15 minutes (if you can wait) and then CHOW DOWN!

2 comments:

Tiffany said...

Steph, this looks fabulous!! I can't wait to try it out...I'll let you know how I do :) I'm excited to see that you are in Utah...I have a ton of family out there, and I go out there about
3x a year! Anyhow, I like you blog ;)

Amanda said...

I remember when we made this...and I bought everything for it and plan on making it this week! yum!!

Just because it's gluten free, doesn't mean it can't be delicious