Zucchini Lasagne

A few years ago my dad and I saw this recipe in a weekly magazine on a warm summers day and decided to try it out immediately! The recipe looked so fresh and we both knew immediately that it would grant us with a perfectly light summer lunch. Today, I made this zucchini lasagne for my mom and brother who absolutely loved it! This is a very light dish so we ate freshly baked sunflower seed bread and Gruyere cheese with it... yummmmy!




Ingredients


(makes enough for 4 if you eat bread or salad with it)

• 6-8 medium zucchinis, sliced lengthwise into 1/2 cm stripes
• 400g low fat quark, drained overnight (substitute with:  350g of Ricotta Cheese and 50g of Sour Cream and blend together)
• 1 dl milk
• 100g ground parmesan cheese + more to sprinkle on top
• 1 handfull of fresh basil or parsley
• 2 medium sized eggs
• 1,5 teaspoons salt + more for grilling zucchinis
• 2 teaspoons ground pepper
• olive oil

Preparation

Place quark into a cheese cloth and drain the water for 2 hours in the fridge.

In a medium bowl combine the quark (or ricotta with sour cream) with the eggs, 1dl milk, 100g parmesan cheese and chopped basil or parsley. Add salt and pepper and mix well. Cover with wrap and place in the fridge.

Wash the zucchinis, peel off the skin in a zebra-style, not all(!) and slice lengthwise into 1/2cm thick pieces. Heat  some olive oil in a large pan or even better - a grilling pan with grids - on high heat. Place the zucchini into the hot pan, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and grill on each side for about 3 minutes. Place the medium-soft zucchinis onto a plate and repeat this procedure until all the zucchinis are done.

Preheat oven to 180°C.

In a gratin pan with high sides, place a layer of zucchini onto the bottom. Spread the quark filling over the zucchini and repeat until the last layer on top is zucchini.

Tip: Layer the zucchini this way: one layer horizontal the next vertical etc. It will be easier to cut the lasagne in the end!

Sprinkle some parmesan cheese onto the last layer and bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes. You might have to cover up the top with foil after 25minutes to prevent the cheese from becoming too brown or burning! Take out of the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes. Cut into 4 pieces and serve with salad or bread! You will notice that some juice has set at the bottom of the pan. Don't worry, no need to panic, this is perfectly normal! Enjoy!