Unique, High-Protein Zucchini Lasagna

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This recipe was inspired by a conversation I eavesdropped into while riding on the train to work last week.  A very hip-looking man was describing his urban garden and things that he does with his zucchini crop when they start growing like crazy.  Intrigued, I looked into zucchini lasagna recipes and, as always, added plenty of twists to make it uniquely my own.

One tip I will share is that in the various components of this recipe, be sure to go light on the salt because there will be plenty of remaining salt on the zucchini with the way I instruct you to prepare it.

I made this in a high-walled 9x9 pan, like a brownie pan, and it made 9 good-sized servings about 3x3 inches each and 1 ½ -2 inches tall.

INGREDIENTS:

-4 small zucchini, thinly sliced length-wise with a mandolin

-2T olive oil

-½ yellow onion, diced

-6 cloves garlic, minced

-½ lb ground lean turkey (1/2 a regular pack from the store)

-23oz can tomato sauce with basil (or add fresh basil, which is even better)- NOT ready made pasta sauce, just regular tomato sauce in a can with NO sugar in it

-16 oz can (regular-sized can) plain fire-roasted diced tomatoes

-1 c low fat cottage cheese

-¾ pack of black tofu, minced

-1 c cremini mushrooms, diced in a food processor, or thinly sliced with a mandolin

-Oregano, salt & pepper to taste (go easy on the salt)

-2 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS:

         Zucchini Noodles~

Use a mandolin or veggie peeler to slice zucchini the long way, so you have long, thin strips of zucchini.  You can choose to discard the pieces that are mostly skin if you prefer.  Layer the zucchini on a large platter and sprinkle with sea salt, which will absorb excess moisture.  After about 30 minutes, use paper towels to press accumulated water and excess salt off of the zucchini.  While you are waiting the 30 minutes, you can prepare the sauce.

         Meat Sauce~

Drizzle the olive oil into a large pot or dutch oven and allow olive oil to heat to medium.  Add onions and soften.  Add garlic and cook until soft, stirring regularly.  Add the ground turkey and sautee until mostly cooked.  Add the cans of tomatoes and use a wooden spoon to get the browned bits off the bottom and incorporated into the sauce.  Season to taste- I always add crushed red pepper, loads of black pepper, basil, and a tiny hint of cumin to tomato sauce.  When combined, cover and cook on low, stirring occasionally.  It really only needs to cook until everything is warmed through and well-combined. (*See NOTE below- I reserved 2 cups of meat sauce when I made this dish!)

         Cheesey Layer~

As you let the sauce cook, work on the cheesey layer.  In a mixing bowl, combine the cottage cheese, tofu, mushrooms, and seasonings until very well combined.

Also thinly slice the fresh mozzarella.

         Put it all together~

Prepare the 9x9 pan however you prefer, I sprayed it with a little more olive oil.  Set the oven to 375.

Note that there will be 3 layers of zucchini, 2 layers of the sauce, 2 layers of the cheese, and 1 layer mozzarella on top.

1) Layer 1/3 of the zucchini strips into the bottom of the pan, slightly overlapping them, having them all lining up in the same direction.

2) Ladel 1/2 of the meat sauce over top, smoothing it out with the back of the ladel.

3) Add ½ of the cheesy mixture over the sauce, making it as smooth as possible.

4) Layer another 1/3 of the zucchini strips, as before.

5) Ladel on the rest of the sauce, smoothly.

6) Add the rest of the cheesy mixture, as smoothly as possible.

7) Layer the rest of the zucchini strips.

8) Finish with the mozzarella slices, evenly distributing them over top.

Bake for about 30 minutes.  If the mozzarella is looking melted, loosely put a layer of foil on top.  Cook until the sauce is bubbling up, about 50 minutes.  I recommend putting a foil-lined baking sheet on the rack beneath the lasagna in the oven, to catch any sauce spill-over.

Allow to cool slightly, use a sharp knife to cut into 9 pieces, and enjoy your healthy dinner than looks like the real thing!

It’s gluten free, if you’re into that, includes >2 servings of vegetables per piece, and is incredibly high in protein while not using that much meat (only 2 servings of turkey for a 9-serving dish!)

Here’s the nutrition info, compliments of the MyRecipes calculator on livestrong.com~

177 calories

5g fat (1 saturated)

4g fiber

16g protein

16g carbs


**NOTE: Because I make up all of my own recipes, sometimes the quantities aren't perfect.  When I made this dish, I had about 2 cups of meat sauce left over that I DID NOT use in the final product.  I saved this for topping spaghetti squash with- another excellent veggie/pasta swap!