Delicious Zucchini Lasagna

It's hard to find a better low carb dish that still has loads of Italian flavor than zucchini lasagna. Full of fresh herbs to spice up your favorite summer vegetable, this dish will satisfy almost any palate. Although botanically a fruit zucchini is treated like a vegetable when baking. It's high in vitamin A, folate and potassium, making it a very healthy food. I am always on the lookout for a good zucchini recipe. It all starts with the zucchini. If possible go to your local farmer's market and pick up a few. Zucchini is actually a delicate veggie even though it seems solid. That's one reason why you don't have to add a ton of spices and herbs to any zucchini recipe. Slice thinly length wise, sprinkle with a little salt and let them dry a bit on paper towels.

Ingredients

• 2 large zucchini
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1 small green bell pepper, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 cup tomato paste
• 1 (16 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
• hot water as needed
• 1 egg
• 1 (15 ounce) container low-fat ricotta cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
• 8 ounces grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a deep 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. Slice zucchini lengthwise into very thin slices. Sprinkle slices lightly with salt; set aside to drain in a colander.
3. To prepare the meat sauce, cook and stir ground beef and black pepper in a large skillet over medium high heat for 5 minutes. Add in green pepper and onion; cook and stir until meat is no longer pink. Stir in tomato paste, tomato sauce, wine, basil, and oregano, adding a small amount of hot water if sauce is too thick. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer sauce for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Meanwhile, stir egg, ricotta, and parsley together in a bowl until well combined.
5. To assemble lasagna, spread 1/2 of the meat sauce into the bottom of prepared pan. Then layer 1/2 the zucchini slices, 1/2 the ricotta mixture, all of the spinach, followed by all of the mushrooms, then 1/2 the mozzarella cheese. Repeat by layering the remaining meat sauce, zucchini slices, ricotta mixture, and mozzarella. Spread Parmesan cheese evenly over the top; cover with foil.
6. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil; raise oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and bake an additional 15 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

The lasagna is a bit soupy right out of the oven but it will settle in about 10 minutes. Don't try to cut into squares or serve until the dish has sat for at least 10 minutes. You can delete the meat from this recipe if you want to have a vegan dish. Add more cheese (about 1 cup) as a replacement.