Zucchini & Eggplant Lasagne

Well Christmas is over and I have been preparing for a new year. Part of my planning making sure we have healthy options at home and on hand for a quick dinner when I have a late night at work. Because, if you are anything like me, the last thing I want to do when I get home at 7:30pm is cook dinner! To combat eat take-away,  I try to keep a freezer full of options. This is one of my favourite options!

Print Recipe

Zucchini & Eggplant Lasagne

A beef lasagne minus the pasta, making it gluten-free but still very tasty!

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Eastern European, Central European

Keyword: gluten-free, nut-free, beef, pork, lasagne, freezable

Servings: 8 serves

Ingredients

Lasagne Sheets

• 1 large eggplant
• 4 large zucchini
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 1-2 tsp salt

Meat Sauce

• 1 brown onion
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 250 g pork mince
• 250 g beef mince
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp sweet paprika
• 350 g passata
• 1 tbsp balsamic
• 2 tsp brown sugar

Toppings

• 100 g soft goats cheese or cottage cheese
• 100 g tasty cheese grated

Instructions

Lasagne Sheet Preparation

• Preheat oven to 200°C.
• Slice the eggplant and zucchini into long flat strips approximately ½ cm thickness. (Like lasagne sheets)
• Place them on a lined baking tray, spray or brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
• Bake in oven for 30-40 minutes. Watch that the eggplant doesn't dry out too much. It will likely need to be removed before the zucchini. You might need to leave the zucchini in for an extra 5-10 mintues. Remove and let sit whilst sauce is still thickening.

Meat Sauce

• Dice onion and saute in a large pot with the olive oil until soft and translucent.
• Add the garlic herbs and salt to the onion mix and stir until fragrant.
• Add the meats and mix through with the onions and herbs until the meat is all browned.
• Add the passata, balsamic and brown sugar, stir through well and bring to a simmer. Let it gently simmer for at leat 30 minutes. As the lasagne sheets will not absorb liquid like the traditional pasta lasagne, the sauce cannot be too wet. Therefore leave it simmering until the liquid has evaporated and the sauce is at a good consistancy. Mine took about 45 minutes with stiring every 5-10 minutes to prevent sticking ot the bottom of the pot. Watch carefully to prevent burning the bottom. If it appears to be sticking turn down the heat.
• Taste to see if more salt is required, adjust to desired levels.

Build Lasagne

• Line the bottom of a casserole dish with the "lasagne sheets".
• Layer with thin layer of meat sauce.
• Add another layer of "lasagne sheets" then another layer of meat, finish with a layer of meat.
• Add cottage cheese and grated tasty cheese to the top.
• Bake in a 180°C oven for 20 minutes until golden brown on the top.

Notes

• This recipe could be made with all zucchini or all eggplant or even sweet potato or another vegetable for the lasagne sheets. You just need to cut them into sheets and adjust cooking time according to the type of vegetables you are using
• This recipe could also be made with any mince meat you desire. I like the pork and beef combination, but you could use all beef. If you want to use chicken or turkey I would take out the balsamic.