Mountain bread ‘lasagne’
Sitting in a restaurant in Rome, I swung my legs like a
little girl waiting in anticipation for a traditional Italian lasagne. It arrived,
oozing with a rich tomato sauce and creamy béchamel, unleashing this aroma that
tickled my noise and whet my appetite.
I loved it – I loved the cheesy exterior, rich tomato sauce
and perfectly cooked pasta. If I could eat it every day I would. If only it
wasn’t so heavy!
So, when a colleague mentioned how mountain bread was the
perfect, lighter pasta alternative I had to try it. This is my cheat ‘lasagne’.
Ingredients:
- 500g turkey mince
- 1 cup tomato passata
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 onion finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 5 cherry tomatoes sliced into quarters
- 1 zucchini, sliced finely
- 6 tablespoons ricotta
- 4 Greek yoghurt
- 25g parmesan, grated
- 6 pieces of mountain bread
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Method:
- Firstly, make the sauce. Start by adding oil and onion to the pan and cook until the onion softens and becomes translucent
- Add the crushed garlic and dried basil and cook on medium heat for 2 minutes
- Add the tomato paste and cook off for 1 minute
- Next, add the turkey mince and cook until it starts to brown
- Once brown, add the passata and cook on medium heat for 20-25minutes or until sauce thickens
- Season with salt and pepper to taste
- Pre-heat oven to 225 degrees fan-forced
- Once the sauce is cooked, grill the zucchini until it starts to soften
- Next, put it together. Start by placing a little sauce on the bottom of a lasagne dish
- Place a piece of mountain bread on top
- Cover with a layer of sauce
- Top with grilled zucchini and cherry tomatoes
- Dollop 3 tablespoons of ricotta and 2 tablespoons of yoghurt over the top
- Place another piece of mountain bread on top
- Top with sauce
- Top with mountain bread
- Finally cover with 3 tablespoons of ricotta, 2 tablespoons of yoghurt, pepper and grated parmesan cheese
- Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until ricotta melts slightly and the mountain bread becomes a little crunchy on top.
While not traditional (don’t expect your Nouna’s lasagne), it
is a great lighter alternative that delivers some delicious results.
Fun farewell yoghurt fact: “one of the most popular fermented dairy products in the world”.
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