Low Carb Spinach & Ricotta Lasagne - A Little Experiment...

Hi Honeys
Today's is an odd post....

How is it odd Rosie? I hear you say.  Well, I thought I'd share a kitchen experiment that actually worked, in that the resulting dish was honestly delicious.  Hubby liked it so much he took some with him for lunch next day, but I still feel (even though I have to admit that it did taste really lovely) a bit "..meh..." about the whole thing. 

I know, I hear you, I've said the same thing dear ones.  We carry out these little experiments in our kitchens hoping to find perfect recipes that can easily be added to our meal rotations, meals that are met with smiles and "happy to see this again" happiness from family members.

I tried to make a low carb version of what is my signature dish, and above all else Hubby's favourite meal, lasagne.  Make it I did (there are so many great low carb recipes and ideas on Pinterest, so there's no shortage of inspiration) and Hubby did in fact like it, and so did I. 

So, what's the problem Rosie?  I really don't know honeys.  I'm exasperated! It's a success, it ticked all the boxes to be slotted into our meal rotation but I'm still sitting on the fence and altogether "meh" about the whole thing!  Maybe you can help me figure it out?   

Why not grab a cuppa and maybe a cookie then honeys and we'll have a look at my little experiment 😊 see you in a few minutes...
Back again?  Welcome back dear ones 😊  Let's take a look at my (successful) wee experiment then will we?

Spinach & Ricotta Cheese Low Carb Lasagne 

Ingredients 

2 Medium courgettes/zucchini
1 x 250g tub of Ricotta cheese
1 (180g) bag of spinach
A splash of olive oil
Garlic - to taste, a little or a lot, up to you honeys, we adore garlic 😊
A little tomato based sauce - I used around a quarter of a carton of passata (chopped tomato passed through a sieve) with basil - it's super yummy😋

Directions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 170C or 325F or gas mark 3. 

Carefully wash and slice length-ways the two courgettes/zucchinis, placing the slices onto kitchen towel or a clean, dried tea towel as you do...

Note:  When I make this again, and I do plan to, I'm going to use a clean, dry tea towel because one of my slices stuck to the paper towel - yuk! It was only one slice but still... ewww! Icky, damp bits of paper stuck to food.... 😥

2.  Place a pot of water on the stove to boil...

3. Open your bag of spinach, tip into a colander or sieve and rinse through with running water.  If you prefer to, remove the stalks from the spinach (as you can see from the next photo, we prefer to leave them on) and roughly tear the leaves (again we don't do this but I know many people do.)

4. Very carefully add the spinach to the pan of boiling water, stir and allow to cook for 4-5 minutes before removing the pan from the heat and draining the water from the pan.  Use a slotted spoon or a colander/sieve to remove as much water as you can from the spinach.

5. Allow the spinach to rest while you add a splash of olive oil to a saute pan.  Add your garlic to the olive oil and heat over a medium heat, stirring to combine them.

6. Add the spinach to the olive oil and garlic and continue to stir through for a minute or two  so that the spinach is all coated.
 

7. Remove from the heat and add the carton of ricotta cheese.  Stir through until the cheese has combined with the spinach.

8.  Pour a layer of tomato based sauce into an oven proof dish.  I used around a quarter of the 500ml carton of passata, which is chopped tomatoes and a few other ingredients blended until smooth.  It's so easy to make honeys,  if you'd like me to I'll make a batch and post the recipe for you?

We tend to buy ours from the supermarket these days, it's just a useful larder item to have on hand because there are so many recipes I use it in.  We buy it with either basil or garlic added, for this recipe, because I'd added garlic already I choose a carton with added basil 😋

9. Begin your layers by adding a single layer of courgette/zucchini slices on top of the passata or tomato based sauce. 

I added the passata to prevent the courgette/zucchini slices from sticking to the base of the dish.  Now I wasn't sure if they would, but that's the kind of thing that would happen to me and this was an experiment after all 😄 

10. Add a couple of spoonfuls of your spinach and ricotta mixture to the dish and spread evenly across the sliced courgette/zucchini until covered...

11. Continue alternating layers between the sliced courgette/zucchini and the spinach and ricotta mixture, finishing with a last layer of courgette/zucchini slices. 

12.  Top the last layer of sliced courgette/zucchini with a jar of Ragu or some freshly made bechamel sauce (I had a jar of Ragu sauce in the cupboard what can I say 😊)

13. Scatter a generous amount of grated cheese on top of the white sauce.  I used a combination of Red Leicester and Scottish Cheddar but use your favourite honeys.

14. Carefully place the lasagne into the oven, on the middle shelf, for 40-45 minutes.

15. Very carefully remove from the oven and allow to rest for a few minutes. 

16. Slice and enjoy with lots of lovely fresh vegetables, we had heaps of peas and baby carrots, or a yummy, crisp salad 😋

Any thoughts honeys?  Now, I've made spinach & ricotta lasagne before, several times, and we've always loved it.  It made a nice change from the meaty minced beef and onion version, but this version.....  I'm stuck on the "meh" shelf.

It really did taste lovely, Hubby loved it, it was quick and easy to make.  It's lower in carbohydrates than the usual pasta based version, all positives.  So why aren't I immediately smitten with this latest version of our very favourite dinner? 

The scent of the garlic wafting through from the kitchen while it was cooking was honestly drool-worthy honeys, I mean seriously.  Again it tasted fabulous, smelled great, looked awesome when sliced and served and my dear Hubby loved it... what more could I want?

Maybe I need to make it a few more times?  Tweaking the recipe each time as I make it, until I feel happy with it?  Maybe my brain is having a sulk because I missed the carbs 😄  Who can say?  All I can tell you is that it worked and I'll definitely be making it again. 

Have you ever tried swapping out ingredients in any favourite recipes to make them healthier honeys?  Have you tried a version of this low carb lasagne?  Why not share in the comments section? 

I hope you're having a fabulous week dear ones, and that you're looking forward to a wonderful weekend ahead.  Till next time, smile lots and hug even more, hugs always xx