No-Pasta Lasagna

No-Pasta Lasagna

Ingredients

For the beef and tomato sauce:

• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 medium Brown Onion, diced
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Ghee
• 500 grams (1.1 pounds) 95% lean ground Beef
• 2/3 cup dry Red Wine
• 3 Garlic cloves, finely diced chopped
• 2/3 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 2/3 teaspoon Sweet Paprika
• 3 cups Tomato Passata

For the lasagna layers:

• 1 Parsnip (approx. 9 inches long), peeled and sliced thinly
• 1 large Eggplant (approx. 1 1/4 pound), sliced into 1 cm-thick disks (1/2 inch)
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 tablespoons Ghee
• 1/2 cup fresh Basil leaves, torn
• 5 Button Mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cups baby Spinach leaves
• 3 medium Zucchini, sliced vertically into thin ribbons

Garnishes:

• 1 1/2 cups Ricotta Cheese
• 2–3 tbsp grated Parmesan Cheese
• 20 cherry Tomatoes, halved

Directions

To prep the parsnip layers:

Heat oven to 180°C (355°F). Place a layer of parsnip slices with a little ghee in a deep lasagna tray and pre-bake in the oven for 15 minutes, this will help to soften them slightly before we build the rest of the layers. Set aside.

To make the meat sauce:

Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil and sauté onion with a pinch of salt for 5-8 minutes, until slightly caramelized. Add 1 tsp of ghee and bring the heat up to high.

Break the beef mince and add to the frying pan. Use a spatula or a potato masher (my little trick) to stir and break the mince apart into small pieces, as it tends to clump together during cooking. Cook for about 5–6 minutes, until browned.

Add red wine, garlic, pepper, paprika and salt to cooking meat and stir for  3-4 minutes. Add tomato passata, bring to boil and turn the heat down to simmering temperature. Simmer for 10 minutes.

To prep the eggplant layers:

Meanwhile, sprinkle eggplant slices with salt and set aside for 10 minutes to draw out some of the juices. Rinse and pat dry. Heat the oven back to 180°C (355°F).

In another frying pan, heat 2 tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp ghee. Fry the eggplant in batches for 2-3 minutes on each side, until light golden brown. Add more olive oil and ghee as you go along. Set aside, by this stage all our layer ingredients should be ready.

To assemble the lasagna: 

Take the baking tray out of the oven and start layering the lasagna in this order from bottom to top: parsnip slices, 1/3 of tomato meat sauce, eggplant slices, fresh basil leaves, mushrooms, remaining meat sauce, baby spinach and zucchini slices. Drizzle olive oil and cracked black pepper if desired.

To cook the lasagna:

Cook in the oven, at 180°C (355°F), for 35–40 minutes. If using ricotta and grated Parmesan cheese, add on top of the lasagna at the 20 minutes cooking-time mark. Increase the heat to 200°C (390°F) for the last 10–15 minutes.

Garnish with fresh basil and a few cherry tomatoes. Serve with a side mixed salad.

Nutrition Information

Serves:  8 |  Serving Size: 1/8 of dish

Per serving: Calories: 417; Total Fat: 19g; Saturated Fat: 2g; Monounsaturated Fat: 7g ; Cholesterol: 64mg; Sodium: 806mg; Total Carbohydrates: 36g; Dietary Fiber: 12g; Sugars: 15g; Protein: 26g

Nutrition Bonus: Potassium: 1184mg; Vitamin A: 85%; Vitamin C: 113%; Calcium: 22%; Iron: 20%