There’s really no mystery behind making lasagna. Though I realize it is the actual name of the pasta used, the name lasagna (for me) encompasses the whole idea of a rectangular layered casserole – yes? In the past years I have pretty much experimented with all sorts of food-stuffs to serve as the separating layer, depending on who I am feeding: eggroll wrappers, spaghetti squash, kale or chard leaves and today, assorted summer squashes. it was delicious! If you already have your own favorite lasagna recipe, then all you need to do is substitute thinly sliced squashes for the pasta.
- 4 decent size squashes
- 1lb ground beef
- 1 1/2 Jars favorite tomato sauce
- Large container of Ricotta Cheese
- 1 egg
- 3+ cups of cheese (I used combo of provolone, mozzarella, Parmesan)
- fresh oregano and parsley if you have it
- S&P to taste
Trim your squash and slice 1/8″-3/16″ thick the long way – time break out the mandolin. Lightly salted and allow to drain in colander or spread on paper toweling. Don’t skip this part – you must remove some of the liquid form the squash one way or another. Some people roast, grill or fry the squash before layering, but salting works jsut fine and is way easier 😉
Start to brown the ground beef and then add your sauce, cooking until beef is completely cooked. Beat the egg into the ricotta, seasoning with S&P and any herbs you may have. Blend in 2 1/2 cups cheese. Let the layering begin!
Grease your pan, spread a little tomato sauce mixture in the bottom, line up your squash slices – mine worked out almost exactly as it would it I was using lasagna! I ended up overlapping them the long way for a more substantial layer and to fit the pan. Then spread 1/3 cheese mixture over your squash, cover that with a layer of sauce, repeat. I had three layers of squash and finished with the cheese and sauce layer. You could easily add another layer of squash (if you the room) and cover with more sauce to finish. Top with more cheese and bake at 350 degrees until bubbling and done (about 40 minutes for mine). The squash should be cooked. Knowing what a moist vegetable squash is, I did not cover the pan with foil, as I typically do for half the cooking time if I used pasta. That worked out well because no one wants a runny lasagna 😉
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