Lasagna (Low Carb)

Just about the toughest thing about eating low carb (which I do from time to time) is not having pasta. Spaghetti…fettuccine….lasagna…

When I first tried the low cab eating lifestyle, I went into it deep. Lots of meat, cheese and veggies. I watched the low carb cooking shows and bought four or five low carb cook books. The best of the low carb shows, in my not so humble opinion, was Low Carb and Lovin’ It with George Stella. George was the kind of guy I could relate to. He was a chef that loved to eat and often didn’t eat very healthy. As a result his weight went up until he had had enough. I could really relate to that.

George was really good at finding meals that typically had a significant amount of carbs, and found a way to reduce the carbs while keeping the dish delicious. Many of the low carb dishes I’ve made here have come from his cookbooks.

The idea of a low carb lasagna just sounds wrong, but you know what? It works. In lasagna, the noodles add only structure. The noodles rarely add any flavor and the texture doesn’t add much to the dish (except for that little part of the noodle that escaped the sauce and became crispy). It is all about the structure of the dish. So what if you made it without the noodles? My first thought….ricotta soup.

You do have to make a few slight adjustments (no 14 layer lasagna here), but all of the flavors are here and there is surprisingly enough structural integrity to serve it with a spatula. No ricotta soup here!

George Stella’s Meat Lasagna

All of the flavor and few of the carbs!

All of your usual suspects for lasagna. The celery was new for me, but it works.

Fry the veggies.

And the meat.

Sauce it up a bit.

Look at that beautiful, melty top!

You can slice it really easy because without noodles, there is nothing inside to cut.

Lasagna without the guilt!

George Stella’s Meat Lasagna (Low Carb)

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil
2 cups diced celery
1/2 cup diced red onion
2 lbs ground beef
15 oz. s/f tomato sauce
1 t minced fresh garlic
1 t garlic powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t black pepper

Cheese filling:
15 oz ricotta cheese
16 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg
1/2 t minced fresh garlic
2 t dried Italian seasoning
1 t garlic powder
1/4 t black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add celery and onion and cook until slightly tender.
Add ground beef and cook until browned. Drain excess fat.
Add tomato sauce, garlic, garlic powder, salt, and pepper and simmer for 2 more minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat.
Mix the ingredients for the cheese filling together in a bowl using half the mozzarella.
Fill the bottom of the baking dish with the meat filling and top with the cheese filling.
Cover the top with the remaining 8 oz of mozzarella.
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the top starts to become golden and bubbly.
Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing

Source: http://lowcarbhoo.wordpress.com/2011/03/05/george-stellas-meat-lasagna/