Zucchini lasagna

Craving lasagna but trying to stay away from pasta? This layered zucchini bake tastes just like the traditional version and you get to use some of the zucchini up from the garden.

Ingredients:

• 6 small zucchini (about 2 1/2 pounds)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

For the meat sauce

• 450g beef mince
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes or
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (optional), plus more for serving

For the béchamel

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons flour
• Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg (optional)
• 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
• salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

For the ricotta layer

• 2 1/4 cups ricotta
• 3 eggs (150 g, weighed out of shell)
• Fresh basil, for serving

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200 C. Trim the ends off the zucchini and cut them lengthwise into strips a little less than 1/4 of an inch thick. You don’t need to worry about making all the slices perfectly

Trim the ends off the zucchini and cut them lengthwise into strips a little less than 0.5cm thick. Err on the side of making them too thin instead of too thick. Sprinkle the salt on both sides of the zucchini slices and let them sit on top of paper towels while you make the meat sauce and béchamel.

To make the meat sauce, heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook, breaking up the meat with a spatula, until no longer pink. Stir in the pasta sauce and basil. If needed, add salt and pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to medium-low so the sauce simmers, and allow it to continue to cook while you prepare the other components.

Reduce the heat to medium-low so the sauce simmers, and allow it to continue to cook while you prepare the other components.

To make the béchamel, add the oil and flour to a large pot and cook, whisking constantly, until smooth and beginning to brown just slightly (about 1 1/2 minutes). Whisking constantly, slowly pour in the almond milk and add the optional nutmeg. Cook, whisking almost constantly, for about 6 minutes, until the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To make the ricotta layer, in a medium-size bowl, place the ricotta and eggs, and mix to combine. Set the bowl aside. Line two baking sheets with wire racks. Pat the zucchini dry and arrange the slices in a single layer on the racks. Bake for about 10 minutes. The zucchini should appear very dry on top. After taking the zucchini out, reduce the oven temperature to 180 C.

In a 20 cm square casserole baking dish, pour about 1/3 of the béchamel sauce. Top with a single layer of zucchini slices, then spread on half the ricotta mixture. Add another layer of zucchini, top with all of the meat sauce, and pour on another 1/3 of the béchamel sauce. Top with a third layer of zucchini and spread on the remaining half of the ricotta mixture. Add a final layer of zucchini and pour the rest of the béchamel sauce on top.

Cover the lasagna with a piece of tin foil, place in the centre of the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until sizzling and browned in spots, about another 15 minutes. If desired, set the oven to broil and cook a few minutes extra to brown the top even more. Garnish with fresh basil, slice, and serve hot.