Deep Dish Spicy Bison Noodle-free Lasagna

Lasagna, lasagna, you mock me so. For years I made mundane lasagnas, yes I can describe them as such because they just fell flat, boring, lifeless, (sigh) lasagna. As someone who cooks for flavor but also for health one of the biggest challenges I face that non-health conscious cooks do not is how the hell do I replace the 'delicious'. In lasagna that is usually gobs of cheese, maybe a béchamel sauce, and of course the pasta. Now sometimes I do make lasagna with a layer or two of pasta, it usually is me just being lazy, especially those no-boil noodles, damn you no-boil noodles for making lasagna making so much easier. I have tried to morph myself into a no-noodle lasagna gal, but its been rough. The vegetables that one replaces noodles with in lasagna, usually zucchini or eggplant, bleed water- which makes sense because over 90% of their composition is water. Excess moisture = soupy-ass lasagna. The noodles in lasagna typically act to suck up all of that moisture, so in their absence we need to troubleshoot to get rid of it. Damn you lasagna gods! Why must you make it so hard for me to make this recipe healthier! BAH! 

Ok, compose yourself. Breathe. Ok i'm back. So back to bulking up the greatness of lasagna sans-fat, how do I solve this dilemma? FLAVOR. Surprise! You don't need all of that fat to create something delicious, we add in layers of different flavors so you don't even miss it. I mess around with a million different types of lasagna: pulled chicken, squash, and kale lasagna, roasted vegetable lasagna, but tonight I made a spicy bison lasagna. I usually make my own sauce and keep it in my freezer, I spice it up here, but you can definitely grab a good jar of tomato sauce from your local grocer. My favorite will always be Rao's, thanks mom. To slice the vegetables evenly I use a mandolin- you can buy them at any kitchen supply store, but I must warn you... I have chopped off teeny parts of my finger using this tool, it may look all pretty and nice but that blade is no joke. It works the best for even slicing but it is not a tool to use while on the cell phone, watching the bachelor, or in-between painting your nails. The eggplant and zucchini require a little more work, but the end result is totally worth it.

Deep Dish Spicy Bison Noodle-free Lasagna
1 Jar of your favorite spicy tomato sauce (I add a heaping pinch of red pepper flakes to some olive oil in a pan, add my sauce, and let simmer slightly- I also recommend Rao's Fra Diavlo Sauce, its amazing)
1 lb ground bison
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 large zucchinis, sliced to 1/4 inch in thickness
2 eggplants, sliced to 1/4 inch in thickness
1, 15 oz container part-skim ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 tbs dried basil
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded smoked mozzarella (can find at Italian specialty stores, or grocers with solid cheese selections)

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375, preheat a skillet on medium-high heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil, add your garlic, sauté until light brown, about 45 seconds, then add in your bison. Season with salt and pepper until browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes, drain any excess moisture and set aside.

Step 2: On two different sheet trays, line up eggplant and zucchini, sprinkling both with salt. Place in the oven- eggplant will take about 3-5 minutes (looking for tender), zucchini about 5-7 minutes. The zucchini will bleed water, now is your time to get down and go at that zucchini with paper towels so it is as dry as humanly possible. I even go at it piece by piece. 

Step 3: Combine ricotta cheese, egg, dried basil and parmesan cheese and whisk together with a fork.

Step 4: Spray a spring form pan with non stick and wipe with a paper towel to remove any excess. Start to layer: A little bit of sauce, eggplant (or zucchini) whatever you prefer, 1/2 ricotta cheese mixture, 1/2 bison, and 1/2 mozzarella. Repeat.

Step 5: Top the final layer with a little tomato sauce, some parmesan cheese and some mozzarella, cover with foil and place in the oven for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for another 15.

Step 6: LET IT COOL. If I can, with basically every lasagna I make, I refrigerate it or let it sit at room temperature for several hours. Have you tried slicing right into a hot lasagna? It's called slop pile. Let things tighten up a bit, and then when you are ready to eat pop it back in a 415 degree oven just until warms through, about 10 minutes.

Step 7: Remove the sides of the pan....

Use a SHARP KNIFE, and give yaself a slice. ENJOY!