Our friend Frank Baldassare is a leading chef in gluten-free and allergy-friendly cooking. Try his creative recipes that make everyday healthy and delicious.
The Missing Ingredient® Gluten-Free/ Grain-free Recipe: Zucchini Lasagna
Our friend and colleague Frank Baldassare is a very talented chef who specializes in gluten-free recipes. His brand is “The Missing Ingredient” (no we did not know each other when we named our companies, but we love the crazy coincidence) and you can watch him create kitchen magic in his videos. Definitely try these at home and watch for more excellent gluten-free recipes with our great ingredients soon.
Ingredients
3 large Zucchini with skin sliced horizontally (about ¼ inch thick)
1 ¾ cups fresh Ricotta Cheese
1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano (don’t use cheap Parma)
¾ cup grated fresh Mozzarella Cheese
1¼ cup finely chopped Cremini Mushrooms
2 large Carrots finely chopped
2 stalks of Celery finely chopped
2 large Garlic Cloves pressed
¼ cup chopped Shallots
3 cups Spinach chopped
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I used Calvi Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
¼ teaspoon of Himalayan Pink Sea Salt
I can Roasted Tomato Sauce
Preparation
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Preparing the Filling.
1. Heat the two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat then add the garlic and shallots. Cook about 2 minutes.
2. Add the carrots, celery, mushrooms, and spinach. Stir occasionally.
3. Cook the mixture 10-15 minutes uncovered.
4. Remove from heat and let cool.
5. Place the fresh Ricotta in a large mixing bowl and stir in the cooled veggie mixture. Combine thoroughly.
6. Stir in the Parmigiano and sea salt until combined.
Preparing the Zucchini
1. Cut the zucchini lengthwise creating slices that are roughly ¼ inch thick.
2. Place cut zucchini slices on a large cookie sheet and roast for 5 minutes at 425. Repeat until all the slices have been roasted. This is an important step to remove some of the moisture from the zucchini.
3. Remove the zucchini strips for the cookie sheet and press between cheesecloth or two paper towels to remove excess water.
You’re ready to put it all together
Reduce the oven temperature to 375.
1. Lightly coat the bottom of a baking dish with some of the tomato sauce. (Less is more in this case.)
2. Place zucchini strips side by side until the bottom of baking dish is covered.
3. Add a layer of the cheese/ veggie filling.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you have used all the mixture.
5. Cover the top layer of zucchini with roasted tomato sauce.
6. Cover the sauce with mozzarella cheese.
7. Sprinkle with torn basil leaves and freshly ground pepper.
8. Tightly cover with tin foil and bake for 30-45 minutes depending on your oven.
9. Remove from oven and let stand approximately 10 minutes uncovered before cutting.
10. Cut the lasagna straight down the middle first.
Then cut across, in between the zucchini slices making a total of 6 servings, each consisting of two zucchini slices.
Note: If you let this sit over night in the refrigerator it pulls together nicely. Then reheat and serve. I think most baked Italian dishes are always better the second day.
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