10 Layer Sweet Potato and Zucchini Lasagne



This is a simple, filling, meat-and-pasta-free version of my favourite of favourite Italian dishes. Lasagne. And why on earth would anyone ever choose not to use pasta? Lotsa reasons. Maybe even 'cos you forgot to buy lasagne sheets, flour and polenta.

It's possible.




 Heh heh. Even my resident noodle-lovers didn't catch me on this one ...

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Sweet Potato and Zucchini Lasagne
serves 4-6

The time
15-20 min prep + 45 min - 1 hr baking

Ingredients
The sauce
1 can (400mL) organic diced tomatoes
1 tub (140mL) organic tomato paste
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup water

The layers
1 extra-large orange sweet potato or a couple of smaller ones, thinly sliced
450g quark, ricotta, or strained cottage cheese
2 small zucchinis, thinly sliced
4-6 handfuls of mixed shredded cheeses (including parmesan, cheddar, mozzarella, whatever you have on hand)

*Try to use organic ingredients when you can!

The process
1. Preheat the oven to 180C (360F). Pull out a laptop-sized rectangular baking dish. Mix together all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl, and set to the side. Get ready to build.

Layer 1: Spread 200mL (~3/4 cup) of sauce across the bottom of the dish.

Layer 2 & 3: Place slices of sweet potato over the sauce, one at a time, so there's no sauce visible below. Repeat so you have two layers of sweet potatoes.

Layer 4: Drizzle over 100mL (~1/3 cup) sauce. Don't worry about uniformity.

Layer 5: Spread the quark or ricotta or strained cottage cheese over.

Layer 6: Add 1 layer of zucchini slices

Layer 7: Then 100mL sauce

Layer 8: Finally, 1 more layer of sweet potato slices

Layer 9: The rest of the sauce

Layer 10: And cheese.

2. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, reduce the heat to 140C (300F) and continue baking for another 15-30 minutes. How long you bake for will depend a lot on the thickness of your slices and the size of your dish, so keep checking. The lasagne is done when the cheese is crispy and browned, and there are bubbles of sauce up the sides, and the veggies are well-cooked inside. (Use a knife to check)

3. When it's done, leave out of the oven for a few minutes before slicing and serving with a green salad and a glass of wine.

The cost
I got my veggies at the market (zucchini's everywhere at the moment) and my quark marked-down at the natural foods store, so this organic lasagne cost me only $10 to make! It just goes to show you can make amazing food for hardly anything at all. In fact, you could sub out the zucchini for another veggie in-season if you like, to maximise freshness and minimise cost.

And hey, out there, I'd love to hear from you. Here in the comments, or over on Twitter or Facebook - so please don't be shy about saying hello!

Have a lovely weekend,
Amanda xx

Comments

  1. This is definately going on to this week's menu plan. So easy and sounds so YUM! xx

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  2. This looks delicious! And healthy, thanks for sharing!

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  3. This must have been delicious if the pasta noodles weren't even missed. Who says you need pasta to make a great lasagna anyway!?

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  4. Love this - so great to fill the whole family up on. I am loving the addition of the sweet potato.

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  5. All I can say is YUM!!! Okay, I can say more than that, so simple and sounds oh so tasty! I have a sweet potato but might just have to go out and buy myself some zucchini so I can make this recipe for my vegetarian dish this week (when husband is at tennis I usually have eggs with little Miss 3.5).

    Thank you for inspiring my home made journey too by the way ;)

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  6. I'll make this next time my sister comes to dinner as she can't eat pasta due to a wheat and rice intolerance. Sounds delicious :)

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  7. i love how simple and delicious this recipe looks!
    making it now for our dinner tonight...meat-free monday postponed until tuesday...

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  8. Love this! I have the first of my zucch's starting to come up now so I'll definitely give this a go.

    I'm really digging sweet potato and black beans at the moment, they just work together. I wonder how this would go with the addition of some black beans?

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  9. MMMMMMM,...I love this kind of easy food to make all in 1 oven dish & it is so good for you too,..That's my kind of lovely food! Yum! ;)

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  10. Thanks for this! I love no pastery meals, and easy convertible vegan ones now too :) So thank you! Yummmmm! Printed for next weeks meal plans 

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Thanks for commenting! Amandaxx