That's right! You heard me! AIP LASAGNA! I am Italian and grew up in a very Italian household where bread, butter, meatballs, pasta, and gravy topped my food pyramid. To say the least, when I started this AIP diet, I not only missed these foods but also had to give up on a really important aspect of who I was and my culture. Will holiday meals ever be the same? Will I ever be able to get a taste of my culture again? Well the answer is yes and no. While I can only do my best to replicate flavors, they may not be exactly what I dream of, but sometimes they can come pretty darn close! I present to you, AIP Lasagna to fill that Italian food void!
Gravy Ingredients:
- 2 carrots
- 1 parsnip
- 1/2 an onion
- lots of finely chopped fresh basil
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 can of butternut squash or pumpkin puree
- fresh rosemary
- 2 tbs of balsamic vinegar
- 3 tbs of olive oil (use a good olive oil that is extremely flavorful)
Step-by-Step Gravy (No-mato sauce):
1. Peel and chop your carrots, parsnips, and onion. Boil them in water until they are soft.
2. Drain most of the water and transfer contents to a blender or food processor. Blend until completely smooth then place in pot.
3. Add can of butternut squash or pumpkin and olive oil to pot and mix until the oil doesn't separate anymore.
4. Chop garlic, basil, and rosemary and mix into pot.
5. Add balsamic vinegar, stir, and simmer.
Zucchini "Pasta"
1. Take two zucchini and use a peeler to make very thin strips. It does not matter the length of the strips, but do make sure that they are thin (almost see through) otherwise they will be too thick and will not soften when baked.
Chicken Parm Ingredients:
- roughly 2 lbs of boneless and skinless chicken thighs
- 1 cup of almond flour
- 2 tbs of nutritional yeast
- 1 tbs of garlic powder (yes I love garlic, but trust me it's worth it!)
- 1 tbs of dried parsley
Step-by-Step Chicken Parm:
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Put chicken on cookie sheet and bake in oven at 350 for 50 minutes (I sprinkled a little bit of salt on top)
3. Once chicken is done baking, cut into small pieces or shred.
4. Put chicken pieces into a bowl and add almond flour, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and parsley. Mix until it is coated and almost looks like chicken salad.
Step-by-Step Lasagna Assembly: The part we have all been waiting for
1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Take your thin strips of zucchini and layer the bottom of your casserole dish/bread pan. You can braid it or just arrange it in a way that the bottom is covered. I braided mine, it covered the bottom but took way too much time and was completely unnecessary.
3. Spread chicken parm mix on top so you cannot see anymore zucchini
4. Spread gravy on top of chicken until chicken is not visible.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 until all ingredients are done and pan is filled (zucchini, chicken, sauce, zucchini, chicken, sauce, zucchini)
6. Make sure zucchini is final layer
7. Pop in oven for about 10-20 minutes or until zucchini on top is crispy and golden
Serve hot and enjoy! My brother (who doesn't follow AIP) loved it with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and scoop of ricotta on top.
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