Gluten Free Lasagna

Who says you have to give up pasta when you go gluten free?  Thanks to some wonderful GF pastas, we can still enjoy dishes like homemade lasagna!!

The key to making this delish is the brand of pasta.  I have found Tinkyada brand to be (by far) the best and most consistent we have tried.  The texture and taste are very close to wheat pasta.  It isn't hard to cook either.  They have all the traditional types too, from elbow to lasagna.

I make my own sauces, so I have more control over what goes in.  Here is my recipe for Meat Sauce:

Apryl's Homemade Meat Sauce

1lb Grass fed ground beef
1/2lb Italian sausage
1 quart tomato sauce ( I used sauce I canned myself, but I also use Kirkland's Organic Tomato Sauce which would run about 2 cans)
2 cans organic tomato paste
mushrooms (around 5 large)
1 sweet onion
1 cup shredded carrots
1 tbs minced garlic (adjust to taste)
2-3 tbs pesto* (adjust to taste)
Italian seasoning to taste.


First, brown the beef and sausage in a large pot.  Meanwhile, finely chop the mushrooms and onion.  Since several members of my family dislike chunky sauce, I use my food processor to do this.  Add the carrots, mushrooms, onions and garlic to the meat, cooking until tender.  Add the pesto, tomato sauce and tomato paste to the pot.  You may need to add a little water, depending on how thick your sauce is.  Taste your sauce and add salt if desired.  If it comes out overly acidic, you can add a pinch of sugar to tone it down some.  Simmer on med-low for 30 minutes, stirring frequently.  This sauce freezes well.  

*pesto tip:  I make homemade pesto in the summer from my garden, and freeze in ice cube trays.  Once frozen, I pop them out and store in a freezer bag in the freezer.  1 cube is just a bit over 1 tablespoon.  

For the lasagna, I also prepare my ricotta cheese by adding 2 eggs and some Italian seasoning to a 15oz. carton of cheese.  Mix well.

Meanwhile, cook your lasagna noodles just until tender.  Under cooking slightly is preferred as it makes them easier to handle.  

Now set up your assembly line.  I clear off a counter or table and set out my cheese (ricotta, shredded mozzarella, and grated parmesean) my cooked noodles, my warm sauce, and a casserole dish.

Assembly:

1.  Oil your casserole dish with olive oil.

2.  Ladle a small amount of sauce into the bottom of the dish.

3.  Place 3 noodles on top of the sauce.

4.  Spread 2-3 large spoonfuls of ricotta cheese on top.

5.  Sprinkle with parmesean.

6.  Repeat, layering sauce, noodles and cheese until you run out of ingredients or reach the top of the dish.  

7.  Top with shredded mozzarella.

8.  Bake at 350F until bubbly and the cheese is slightly browned.  

9.  Enjoy!