Zucchini Noodle Lasagna

Zucchini "Noodle" Lasagna

Ok, so this recipe is awesome. You use zucchini instead of pasta, and with all the other flavours going on, you don't miss the pasta! This is the original recipe, but I beefed up the sauce with pureed veggies, and next time I'm going to make a white sauce. I added spinach to the ricotta and mozarella, and used that as one of my layers. You can use turkey in it, or leave it out!

Ingredients
1 (28 oz) can of whole plum tomatoes, with juice
2 tbsp olive oil
2 medium zucchini, sliced very thinly lengthwise
1 onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
12 oz ground turkey
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp basil
2 tbsp tomato paste

Directions
To make the sauce:

Saute the onion with the red pepper flakes until tender, stirring. Meanwhile, pulse the tomatoes in a food processor until they are finely chopped. Add the turkey into the pan with the onion and continue to cook, breaking up the large pieces and getting it nice and browned. When there is no longer any pinkish meat, add the garlic and continue to cook for about a minute or two. Then toss in the tomatoes and bring it to a boil.

Reduce the heat and let simmer, stirring and adding the sugar, tomato paste, basil, tasting for salt and pepper. Allow it to simmer for about 20 minutes to thicken up.

Let the sauce cool, and stir in the fresh oregano.

Meanwhile, slice your zucchini lengthwise, really thin. Like about 1/8 inch thin. Use a mandoline if you have one (I don't). Put them in a colander over your sink, sprinkle the slices with about 2 tsp of salt, and let them sit while the sauce cooks, this will draw the moisture out of your zucchini so it doesn't get soupy. When you need them, simple wipe them off with paper towel.

To assemble the lasagna:

Heat your oven to 375 F.

In the bottom of an 8 inch square baking dish, make a layer of zucchini slices using about 5 or 6 pieces. Spread over 1 cup of the sauce. Dot with 1/4 cup of ricotta cheese, and then a sprinkle of mozzarella. Repeat three times with remaining zucchini, ricotta, and mozzarella. Alternate the direction of the zucchini with each layer. End by sprinkling the top with cheese. Bake, uncovered, about 50 minutes while everything bubbles and browns.

Let stand for 10 minutes before serving, and top with freshly chopped oregano. Serves 6