I am constantly trying to make yummy, feel good dishes more healthy because I am a Health Coach and I love tweaking recipes! This recipe is by far, hands down, the number recipe my clients and friends ask me to cook! It's a massive crowd pleaser and I'm excited to share it with the TODAY show!!
Yummiest Zucchini Lasagna Ever!
- Yield: 8
- Prep Time: 2 hr 30 min
- Cooking Time: 30 min
Ingredients
- 3 Tbls Olive Oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1.5 Lbs Organic Ground Turkey
- 1 small can tomato paste (6oz)
- 2 small cans tomato sauce (8oz)
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup Marsala Wine (or any cooking wine)
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Pepper
- 1 tsp sugar
- 6-8 Zucchinis (depending on size)
- 1 pint Ricotta Cheese
- 2 bags shredded Mozzarella Cheese (usually 1.5 cups per bag)
- Fresh Parmesan
Preparation
- See below!
Recipe Tags
Warm olive oil over medium high heat in a large sauce pan. Add garlic and chopped onion and sauté until onions are soft and translucent. Add ground turkey and cook through. Add tomato paste, tomato sauce, wine, water and spices. Mix thoroughly. Reduce heat and simmer for an hour to an hour and a half while you are preparing the zucchini.
Lay out a long strip of paper towels on the kitchen counter. Use a mandolin and set it to a setting that will produce slices that are ⅛ inch thick. Slice all zucchinis and lay the individual pieces out in rows on the paper towels. Sprinkle all slices with a little salt and then cover with another layer of paper towels, pressing down with your hands all the way down the line. This process is called “sweating” the vegetables and you are trying to remove excess water from the zucchinis. Let sit for at least 15 minutes but the longer you let them “sweat” the better.
Prepare two large frying pans with olive oil non stick spray over medium high heat. Place as many slices in the pan as you can without overlapping. Cook the slices for just a minute or two on each side so they are slightly soft but not mushy. Once the slices are finished place the slices on a clean set of paper towels so more moisture can be absorbed. Add non-stick spray between rounds. I usually fill the frying pans in an alternating order so one pan is cooking while I’m removing the pieces onto the paper towels from the other pan. This just speeds up the process but if you only want to do one pan that is fine too. Once all pieces have been cooked and are on paper towels place another layer of towels over the cooked slices and press down with your hands to absorb any additional moisture.
Now you are ready to layer the lasagna. Just like a lasagna made with pasta, you will want to place the layers in alternating direction. The first layer horizontally overlapping the pieces, second layer horizontally etc. etc.. Scoop ⅓ sauce, ⅓ ricotta cheese and ⅓ Mozzarella Cheese. Repeat this process three times. Place a final fourth layer of zucchini slices over the top and then sprinkle with the last bit of mozzarella cheese and the parmesan.
Place in oven on 350 for 30 minutes. Let sit for about 10-15 minutes before serving so it can set a bit. Enjoy!
-Jenny
Salt Water Wellness
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