Hearty Low FODMAP Lasagna
Our Hearty Low FODMAP Lasagna features beef, sausage, tomato sauce and all the cheese you crave, yet it is low FODMAP!
Ingredients:
Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons low FODMAP Garlic-Infused Oil, made with olive oil, or purchased equivalent
- ½ cup (36 g) finely chopped leeks, green parts only
- ½ cup (32 g) finely chopped scallions green parts only
- 12- ounces (340 g) lean ground beef
- 12- ounces (340 g) low FODMAP sweet Italian sausage removed from casing
- ½ cup (120 ml) dry red wine
- 3, 15- ounce (425 g) cans diced tomatoes, well drained
- ¼ cup (60 g) tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Freshly ground black pepper
Pasta & Cheese:
- 12- ounces (340 g) low FODMAP gluten-free lasagna noodles, such as Jovial
- 2, 16- ounce (453 g) containers lactose-free cottage cheese
- 1 cup (100 g) grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup (10 g) chopped basil leaves
- ½ cup (16 g) chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1- pound (455 g) mozzarella, whole milk or skim, shredded
Preparation:
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Make The Sauce: Heat the low FODMAP Garlic-Infused Oil in a large non-reactive straight-sided skillet over low-medium heat until shimmering. Add leeks and scallions and sauté for several minutes until softened, but not browned. Add ground beef and sausage, breaking up well, and continue sautéing until the meats are no longer pink. Stir in the wine, turn up the heat, and cook, stirring often, until most of the wine evaporates. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, dried basil, dried oregano, red pepper flakes and a generous amount of black pepper. Now grab your potato masher! Mash the sauce, mashing the tomatoes and the sausage, which might still be a bit clumpy. The masher works wonders. Adjust heat to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens. Set aside to cool briefly. Sauce may be made 2 days ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container. Bring back to room temperature before proceeding.
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For Pasta & Cheese: While sauce is simmering, fill a large pot with very hot, but not boiling water and add the lasagna noodles, stirring them to keep them separated. Let them soak for 10 minutes or more. Keep an eye on them. You want them pliable, but not so soft that they fall apart. Drain when done.
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Meanwhile, place cottage cheese in a large bowl and whisk vigorously until it smooths out a bit. Whisk in Parmesan cheese, eggs and herbs, season with black pepper and combine everything well.
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Position rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Coat the inside of a 13-inch by 9-inch (33 cm by 23 cpan with nonstick spray.
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For Assembly: You will be creating four layers. Layer #1: Spoon a little bit of the sauce into the bottom of your pan and schmear it around to cover pan to help pasta release upon serving. Completely cover the bottom of the pan with noodles, cut to fit as needed. Dollop one-third of the cottage cheese over the noodles and spread it into an even layer using the back of a soupspoon. Now add one-quarter of the mozzarella evenly over all.
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Layer #2: Evenly spread one-third of the remaining sauce (you can eyeball it), another layer of noodles, half of the remaining cottage cheese mixture and another quarter of the mozzarella.
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Layer #3: Spread half of the remaining sauce, another layer of noodles, all of the remaining cottage cheese mixture and another quarter of the mozzarella.
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Layer #4: Evenly spread all of the remaining sauce overall and then top with the rest of the mozzarella.
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Spritz the bottom of a large piece of aluminum foil with nonstick spray and, this side down, very lightly cover the lasagna, tented as high as possible so as not to touch the cheese.
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Bake for 45 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for about 15 minutes or until cheese is melty and bubbly. Allow lasagna to sit for 15 minutes before serving. Lasagna can also be wrapped up well in plastic wrap and foil before baking and frozen for up to a month. Defrost before baking.
Notes:
Tips
- There is no getting around the fact that this is a bit of a production. Why not make two at once and freeze one? And/or, once baked and cooled, you can also divide into individual portions, wrap, freeze and reheat as needed in microwave for super-easy, last-minute meals.