Single Serving Veggie Lasagna *Gluten Free*

This is not your typical veggie lasagna.  For one, there are no anemic vegetables  swimming in a gluey cream-based sauce.  And?  No noodles.  No kidding!  Slice zucchini thin enough and it will fool even the most devout pasta-holic.  I promise.  Well, maybe maybe it won't fool them.  But I doubt they'll complain much.

The individual loaf pans make these a breeze to serve as well.  No fighting over utensils.  No runny mess of cheese and sauce oozing in to replace the missing slices.  And who needs a plate when you can enjoy it right out of your own personal pans!

When I first started assembling these there was much grumbling and groaning.  All of the slicing, blanching, sauteing, mixing, baking...sheesh!  For the amount of time I was looking into spending on these I was hoping for something stellar.  It took a while before it dawned on me that this in no more time consuming than traditional noodle and meat lasagna...possibly even less so given that the zucchini noodle blanch quicker than the noodle boil and the onions cook down faster than the meat usually browns.  If the time is a deterrent, make huge batch and freeze them for later...either pre or post baking (it doesn't really matter). 

yields four single serving lasagna

The Ingredients:
2 medium zucchini
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups ricotta
1 egg
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp fresh grated Parmesan
2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend (Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan, Fontina, Romano and Asiago)
1 large bunch fresh spinach
3 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce

equipment:
4 mini loaf pans

The Process:
Preheat the oven to 350.

 Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a gentle boil over medium high heat.  Cut off stem end of the zucchini.  Using a mandolin, vegetable peeler or a sharp knife cut the zucchini lengthwise into 1/8 - inch thick slices.  Quickly blanch the zucchini in the salted water, about 1-2 minutes.  Drain the zucchini ribbons and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the 2 cloves of garlic, onions and mushrooms.  Saute until the mushrooms and onions are tender, 8-10 minutes.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, remaining garlic, egg, oregano, parsley and basil until well combined.  


Gather all of the ingredients to assemble the lasagna.

Lightly oil the each of the four loaf pans.  In the bottom of each mini loaf pan, layer 2-3 ribbons of zucchini, completely covering the bottom.  Top with a layer of 6-8 spinach leaves, and 3-4 slices of tomato.  Spread about 3 Tbsp of the ricotta mixture over the vegetables and sprinkle with about 3 Tbsp of shredded cheese.  

Spoon a thin layer of the mushroom and onion mixture on top of the cheeses.  Top with a layer of tomato sauce.  Repeat all of the layers.  Finish with a layer of 2-3 zucchini ribbons, 3-4 slices of tomato and a generous sprinkling of shredded cheese.

Cover each of the mini lasagna loosely with aluminum foil.  Bake for 30-35 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown.  Allow the lasagnas to cool for 5 to 10 minute prior to serving.


The Review:
Was this recipe worth all chopping, slicing, dicing and cursing.  The meat loving pasta-holic in my household claimed not to miss the meat or the noodles (though he would have preferred I nixed the mushrooms).  A huge plus for those wonderful vegetables.  Come summer when our CSA boxes start to arrive, I suspect many a veggie will endure a similarly tasty fate.