Maziar’s Healthy Lasagne

We recently started making lasagne at home after our friend and colleague Maz shared his family's recipe which keeps his blood sugar stable and is even kid approved! Maz only shared a list of ingredients so I've made this a few times to work out the measurements, but this lasagne is so delicious without the big blood sugar spike of traditional recipes.  We pack this full of mushrooms and eggplant for additional nutrients. Yum! 

Ingredients

• 1.5 pounds pound lean ground beef

• 1-1.5 cups minced onion

• 6 cloves garlic, minced (do this first to set off enzymatic reactions) 

• 12 oz mushrooms, sliced

• 2 medium eggplants

• 2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes

• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

• 2 tsp dried basil leaves

• 1 tsp Italian seasoning

• 1 tsp fennel seeds

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

• 1 package Cappellos lasagne sheets

• 16-24 ounces ricotta cheese

• 2 eggs

• 12 oz pound mozzarella cheese, shredded

• .5 cups grated Parmesan cheese

• fresh basil for garnish

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. 
2. Put a dutch oven or large cast iron skillet on medium high heat. Brown ground beef and add onion, mushrooms + garlic when the beef is still a little pink. Cook until onions are translucent. 
3. Slice eggplant length wise, so slices are roughly 1/4 inch thick. 
4. Puree one can of tomatoes (in a blender or vitamix) and add to pot. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and spices. Simmer for 30min - 1 hour (depending on how much time you have) stirring occasionally. 
5. Assemble starting with 2 lasagne sheets in the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan. Layer in meat sauce, then eggplant slices, then ricotta + shredded mozzarella. Repeat lasagne sheets, meat sauce, eggplant slices, then more meat sauce. Top with lasagne sheets, ricotta, and mozzarella.  
6. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until eggplant is fork soft and cheese starts to brown. Let rest 10-15 minutes then cut and serve. Top with parmesan cheese and fresh basil. Enjoy!