South Beach Diet - Zucchini "noodle" lasagna? Will it work?

Do you think it would work to make a lasagna-type dish with zucchini instead of pasta noodles? I have made the eggplant one in the past and, as hard as I try to like eggplant, I just can't muster a love for that vegetable. I was thinking zucchini might work.

I was thinking of layering:
pasta sauce
long, thin sliced zucchini
ricotta/egg/spinach/salt/pepper/parmesan mixture
mushrooms
mozzarella
pasta sauce...and so on

And then baking at 350, covered, until the veggies are tender and cheese is melted, maybe a half hour to an hour?

What do you think?

Kara

I don't see why it wouldn't work. It will be more moist than eggplant or noodles so it may not hold together like lasagna, but it should taste good.

Hmmm...good point...zucchini does release a lot of water. I wonder if it would help if I baked it a bit first, maybe at 400 or so for a couple minutes on a cookie sheet sprayed with Pam?

Kara

Kara, bake or grill the zucchini first, and it will be firm and delicious! Let your lasagna sit for about 10 minutes before cutting it, too. That will help firm it up even more.
I like eggplant, but it doesn't like me. :( For some reason, it always makes me very nauseous. I can use a bit of it in ratatoulle and I'm ok, but if I use too much, it lets me know. :barf: So I often use zucchini in place of it, first grilling it, and it works as a great substitute.

Thanks, Cottage!

Kara

Let us know how it turns out! Sounds yummy.
You know I'll bet very thin slices of zucchini (cut long ways) would also be good layered in the Taco Bake recipe (which I did for the first time yesterday..yum...I used black beans instead of refried because I happened to have an extra can of them!)

Kara it does work, but as suggested cook the zucchini first, I made the mistake last week of not and ended up having to dump a bunch of water off half way through baking. I have never been a real fan of ricotta so I always replace that with cottage chesse mixed with egg and get the same results. It was yummy and sure helped when the family was eating the "real stuff"!

femme, I bet that would be good, adding zucchini to the Taco Bake. I always make it with black beans, since we don't care for refried beans. In fact, we didn't care much for that recipe at all until I started subbing the black beans, and now it's one of our favorites!

Thanks, Pacer! I actually planned on making two batches - one "real" and one of the zucchini concoction, but Tom got so excited about the idea of the zucchini one that he told me not to bother with the noodles at all! I'm glad to hear it will be successful with the pre-roast.

Kara

Kara,I'm anxiously awaiting the results of your creation,I have two zucchini plants in the garden,and would love to use them..I have made stuffed zucchini b4 on Phase 2,and what I've done b4 baking is to cut then longways,and nuke them to get most of the water out,then bake...yum choices

Femme...how do you incorporate the black beans..into the taco bake? thanks~choices

OK, I haven't tried it yet (it's in the oven now) but this is what I did. It smells so good that I can't imagine it won't taste delectable, but once we see how it goes over I'll post the recipe in the recipe section.

Pasta-less Zucchini Lasagna

This made two very full 8" by 8" pans, and I would consider that to be 8 servings.

Ingredients:
4 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise into about 1/4" segments
12 medium mushrooms, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 jar pasta sauce (I used an organic Seeds of Change Fire Roasted Tomato and Garlic)
32 ounces mozzarella, sliced (I used fresh, because I wanted a treat, but you could easily use the pre-shredded, or whatever cheese you like.)
30 ounces ricotta (2 packages)
1 package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed
2 eggs
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
about 1 teaspoon dried basil
about 1 teaspoon dried oregano
about 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
about 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Directions:
Roast the zucchini in a preheated 400(F)/200(C) oven on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray for ten minutes per side.

While the zucchini is cooking, sautee the garlic in the olive oil and then add the mushrooms and cook until tender.

Combine the ricotta, eggs, salt, pepper, basil, oregano, spinach, and paremesan in a large bowl.

Spread pasta sauce in pan enough that the bottom is covered. Place roasted zucchini strips across the pasta sauce. Layer on the ricotta mixture and then spread the mushrooms over the ricotta. Place half of the mozzarella slices on top of the mushrooms and then pour more pasta sauce over the cheese. Repeat a zucchini layer and a ricotta mixture layer, and then place the remaining mozzarella slices on top. If desired, pour more sauce and top with a sprinkling of parmesan.

Bake in a 350(F)/180(C) oven for 45 minutes to an hour. Let sit for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Nutritional information per serving:
583.5 calories
37.75 grams fat
21.75 grams saturated fat (Remember I used the fresh mozzarella.)
1.625 grams polyunsaturated fat
12.125 grams monounsaturated fat
22.125 grams carbohydrates
3.5 grams fiber
41.5 grams protein

It's a little higher in fat and calories than I would prefer, so I think next time I'll cut the cheese amount in half and use reduced fat shredded instead of the fresh mozzarella.

If anyone else tries this, tell me what you did differently!

Kara

If anyone else tries this, tell me what you did differently!

Kara

I've made a very similar dish, but vegan, omitting eggs and cheeses, using vegan cheese, high protein tofu (pureed with ground flax and spices, in place of the ricotta) and soy Parmesan. It was delicious!

We use zucchini like this all the time. Also use it as ribbons with a pasta sauce. I had a serious zucchini addiction for awhile there :)

The baking first is a great idea, so is grilling them on a bbq...yummo. I hope it tastes great for you

OK, it was still a bit watery. I don't know if I didn't roast the zucchini long enough (doubtful as it was browning) or if I didn't squeeze the spinach well enough (likely culprit). Other than that, a bit too much cheese. I would definitely reduce it by half next time.

Kara

maybe salting the zucchini next time and letting them drain for an hour and then patting them dry before cooking would help? Like what you do with eggplant.

That's not a bad idea, Marianna.

As we were eating, I thought of something else I would do differently, just because I have three kids to cut up food for...

Next time I will also cut the zucchini into smaller pieces, which would make this more of a layered casserole and less of a zucchini-substituted-for-pasta lasagna.

Kara

Hey, Kara, the lasagna may have been too watery from the mushrooms, too. Try roasting them along with the zucchini, and make sure you squeeze every last bit of water from the spinach. Sometimes I sautee the spinach with a little olive oil and garlic before adding it in.
Ok, now my mouth is watering. I'm going to make this for supper tonight, and I think I'll surprise Cindy and make one for her, too.

I actually sauteed the mushrooms with some garlic so I don't think they were the problem. I had to steam the spinach a bit because I hadn't left it out long enough to defrost and it was too hot to squeeze for too long, so I think that's where the added water came from. I've had the same problem with quiche before when I haven't properly dewatered my spinach.

It was still so yummy that I ate my portion and what the kids didn't finish of theirs. Doh!

Hope yours turns out great!

Kara

I agree with marianna. I've made a zucchini lasagne and the salting helps a lot. Wipe off excess salt. Saute and drain all veggies before layering and that should eliminate most of the water. It is super yummy.