Zucchini Ground Pork Casserole
This zucchini casserole is fantastic. It's packed with fresh flavor and fiber, perfect for summer when zucchini is in abundance. It freezes well, too.Made in a 9x13 inch baking dish, it makes 12 servings1 Serving is about 3x3 inch cube
Servings: 12 serving
Ingredients
- 35 oz ground pork (2 pound or a little over 2 pounds, 1 kg)
- 5 medium-large zucchini, grated (4.5 pounds, 2kg ) note: I used zucchinis: 9-10 inches long, 2.25 in diameter, 1 whole zucchini with the ends trimmed is about 400-410 grams
- 2 medium onions, diced (2 cups)
- 3-4 large garlic cloves, diced
- salt to season
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper or to season
- ½ teaspoon paprika (optional)
- 4 cups 1 quart plain tomato sauce (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon dry basil
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 2 cups shredded cheese - topping
- ½ cup dry quinoa, cooked
- 1 cup dry brown rice, cooked
- olive oil
Instructions
Zucchini
- Grate zucchini and squeeze out the juice.
Cook Ground Pork
- In a large pot, heat 1 to 2 teaspoons olive oil, add ground pork (2 lb, 1 kg), break it up into small pieces, and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes until the meat turns from pink to brown. Remove from the heat and strain it through a strainer to remove the fat. Set aside.
Cook Zucchini
- In the same pot, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil, add onion (2 cups), cook on medium-low heat, then gradually increase to medium and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add diced garlic and cook for a minute.Add grated zucchini, season with salt and ground pepper (1/4 teaspoons) stir well and cook for about 10 minutes. Zucchini will release more liquid. This is normal. You can take a small ladle and remove excess liquid from the pot.
Zucchini and Pork Filling
- Add cooked ground pork to cooked zucchini and stir well. Taste and season with red paprika (optional), salt and black ground pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
Tomato Sauce
- Season plain tomato sauce* with 1 teaspoon dry basil and 1 teaspoon dry oregano.
Brown Rice and Quinoa
- Cook 1/2 dry quinoa and 1 cup brown rice according to instructions on the packaging. Combined cooked rice and quinoa in a bowl.
Layer Casserole
- Lightly grease the bottom and sides of the 9x13 baking dish with olive oil. Spread about 1/3 of the zucchini-pork mix on the bottom of the dish, spread about 1/3 of the rice-quinoa mixture over the zucchini-pork. Then spread about 1/3 of tomato sauce over rice layer. Repeat until you use all the fillings, ending with the tomato layer. Cover dish well with aluminum foil.
Bake Casserole
- Preheat oven to 375F ( 190C ). Bake covered with the foil for 45-50 minutes.Carefully remove the baking dish from the oven; it is heavy, remove the foil and sprinkle 2 cups of mozzarella cheese on the top. Baked for additional 10 minutes until cheese is melted. Allow to cool slightly and enjoy with a cucumber salad on the side.Casserole keeps in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Notes
- Can I freeze the casserole cubes? -If freezing, allow to cool completely and refrigerate until firm, about 3-8 hours. Slice into 3x3 cubes and freeze individually on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Once cubes are frozen, after about 5-8 hours, store them in a Ziploc bag or a freezer-safe container. If freezing for longer, wrap frozen casserole cubes into a freezer-safe paper (optional). Well frozen, it keeps for up to 6 months.
- How to defrost casserole cubes? - Allow to defrost in the fridge or use a microwave setting to defrost and reheat before serving.