Modern Paleo Lasagna

Yummy, lasagna….. It does take a while to make but it is totally worth it.

Ingredients
1kg ground beef (grass fed)
600ml of crushed tomatoes
600ml can of diced tomatoes
8 cremini mushrooms
1 onion
2 carrots
5 cloves garlic
dried basil, oregano, marjoram to taste
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp organic turmeric
2-3 large Zucchini for noodles
5-6 leaves fresh basil
1.5-2 whole tomatoes, sliced thinly
1/4 cup finely grated hard cheese (optional)

Method
Brown your meat in a large saucepan while you dice your onion and carrot finely.

Add to the meat and simmer slowly. Once it’s almost all brown, add your garlic and spices and let cook for about 15 minutes on low heat, stirring often.

Chop your mushrooms up into bite sized pieces and add to the pan. Cook with the lid on for about 5 minutes then take the lid off and simmer for about 10 minutes or so.

This cooks off a lot of the juices that are released from the mushroom. We’re not using oven ready pasta here so we want to eliminate as much water from the sauce as we can.

Open your crushed tomatoes and drain as much of the water as possible. Add it to the meat and simmer for a while, then add the sauce. It’s best to let this simmer on low for a long time, occasionally taking the lid off the pan to release water.

Lasagna Layers
You’re going to use zucchini as “lasagna sheets”. If are able to, cut your zucchini noodles just as you begin browning the meat. If you can dry them for a few hours, they release less water into the final dish.

Don’t’ cut too thin or too thick as they don’t hold the dish together, about 3mm is perfect.

Once the meat sauce is ready, ladle out about 1 cup into the bottom of your baking dish. Place a layer of zucchini on top of that, then take half of what’s left of the meat sauce and spoon over the “pasta sheets”. Here is where you can add a light sprinkling of cheese, as well as a few fresh basil leaves ripped into pieces. Add another layer of zucchini and the rest of the meat sauce.
Top with a layer of finely sliced whole tomato and a generous amount of ripped basil leaves. Sprinkle cheese on top.

Bake in the oven at 190°C for 45-60min. If your meat sauce is piping hot when you layer, it may take only 45 minutes. Rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Serve with a side salad.