Sunday Night Lasagna Kit

What You Get

2 lb Yellow Summer Squash or Green Zucchini

3 cups Macadamia Nuts

3 tbsp nutritional yeast

1/2 cup Basil

1 Lemon

1 lb Ground Beef

1 lb Ground Pork Sausage

1 28-oz jar Rao's Homemade Marinara Sauce

What You'll Need

Kosher salt

Extra virgin olive oil

Black pepper

Mandoline slicer (or sharp knife and steady hand)

Food processor or blender

9x13-inch baking dish (or one of similar size)

⅔ cup water for the macadamia nut ricotta

Step 1

Place your oven rack in the middle of the oven and turn on the broiler.

Step 2

Make the squash pasta! (you can do this up to 3 days in advance and refrigerate it). To make the pasta, trim the ends off the squash and then slice very thinly (¾”) on a mandoline or with a sharp knife.

Step 3

Brush a rimmed baking sheet with a tablespoon of olive oil. Lay the squash in a single layer. Brush another tablespoon of olive oil on the squash slices and sprinkle lightly with salt. (Use a second baking sheet, if you have it, to lay out the rest of the squash, or you can reuse the single sheet as you rotate your batches through the broiler.)

Step 4

One baking sheet at a time, broil squash slices for 10-12 minutes or until softened and lightly browned.

Step 5

Set aside the squash. Turn off the broiler and set the oven to 400.

Step 6

Now we can make the cheese. Start by adding 3 cups of macadamia nuts to a food processor or blender.

Step 7

Process the nuts, scraping down the sides as needed, until a course, cornmeal-like texture forms.

Step 8

Add the remaining ricotta ingredients: ½ cup of rough chopped basil, 3 tbsp nutritional yeast, 1 tbsp lemon zest, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1.5 tsp salt, ¼ tsp ground black pepper, and ⅔ cups of water (plus more as needed).

Step 9

Puree until smooth (thin with a bit of water if needed). Taste and adjust the seasoning. Set the cheese aside.

Step 10

Now, let's make the sauce. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil and 1 finely chopped onion.. Cook the onion for 2-3 minutes or until softened.

Step 11

Add 4 minced cloves of garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Step 12

Add one pound of ground beef and one pound of sausage to the hot pan.

Step 13

Break up the meat with a spatula and cook for about 10 minutes until it's no longer pink. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

Step 14

Pour in the jar of marinara sauce, and bring the contents to a boil.

Step 15

Decrease the heat and maintain a low simmer for 3-5 minutes. Then, take the sauce off the heat and set aside.

Step 16

Time to assemble the lasagna! Spoon about 1 ½ cups of the meat sauce into a 9x13-inch baking dish. Spread the sauce out evenly across the bottom.

Step 17

Add a layer of broiled squash, using about a third of what you have. (tip: I like to use the ugliest, weirdly shaped squash pieces for this bottom layer)

Step 18

Dollop about half of the ricotta on the squash layer.

Step 19

Grease the back of a spatula with oil and use it to gently spread the ricotta to the edges of the baking dish.

Step 20

Spread another 1 ½ cups of the meat sauce on top of the ricotta layer.

Step 21

Add a second layer of squash slices, then dollop on the remainder of the ricotta and smooth it down with a greased spatula.

Step 22

Add an additional 1 ½ cups of the meat sauce and spread it out to the edges

Step 23

Add the rest of the broiled squash in a single layer. I hope you saved the prettiest slices for this top layer!

Step 24

Spread the remainder of the meat sauce across the top of the lasagna.

Step 25

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the lasagna’s totally heated through.

Step 26

Rest the lasagna for at least 10 minutes before slicing it up and serving.