Purple Sweet Potato Lasagne

So, by now I imagine many of you have heard of the paleo, primal or ancestral approaches to eating and lifestyle. It's something that Allen and I have been easing into for awhile. It probably started with my awareness that gluten caused me to have some weird symptoms including tummy aches and rashes. Once I eliminated the gluten I felt better. From there, the more I learned, the more the ancestral approach to eating just made sense to me. There is tons of good information out there and I will include some links at the end of this post.

Anyway, when I say "easing" into it, I mean we don't do it all the time. However, every time I slip back into, "Oh, just one bean burrito and a cupcake won't hurt anything," I start to feel crummy again. The first thing I usually notice is BIG stomach bloat. If I continue eating grains, beans, and sugar, my stomach hurts all the time. My joints ache, I have very low energy, and I even experience depression.

So Allen and I have made a commitment to follow an ancestral approach to eating as strictly as possible for one month. That IS NOT what this blog is about but I will share some recipes from time to time.

Purple Sweet Potato Lasagna! (Recipe adapted from Pinterest.)Any sweet potato will do. One of the advantages to living where we do, now, is the abundance of wonderful produce. I found a purple sweet potato!

Preheat oven to 350F

For the parsnip layer:
1 large parsnip peeled & cubed
1-2 tbsp coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 - 1/2 cup cream or whole milk
Pinch of sea salt and pepper
Dash of paprika

For the meat layer:
1lb 100% grass fed beef
1 jar of you favorite pasta sauce. One with no added sugar or other unnecessary stuff. I like Rao. Or, of course, you can make your own.

For the vegetable layers:
1 large sweet potatoes, sliced 1/4” thick.
1 summer squash or zucchini, sliced 1/4" lengthwise

Shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)
coconut or olive oil for brushing
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper for sprinkling

Here's What You Will Do:
Bring parsnips to a boil and then simmer until soft & ready to mash – approx. 30 minutes

Heat the coconut/olive oil & sauté the garlic over medium-low heat. Add the oregano and continue to saute until fragrant. Do not burn the garlic.Drain the parsnips and add to the garlic.Add the cheese, cream or milk, salt, pepper, and paprika and mash or use an immersion blender to puree.

Set aside the parsnip mixture while you prepare the other ingredients.

Brown the ground beef & drain excess fat. Add enough pasta sauce to make a thick sauce but not too runny and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Pour a thin layer of the meat sauce in the bottom of an 8x8 glass baking dish.Place a thick, overlapping layer of the sweet potato slices on on top of the sauce. Brush sweet potato slices with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Add another layer of meat.

Sprinkle meat sauce lightly with mozzarella cheese, if using.Brush both sides of squash lightly with oil and arrange over meat sauce. Sprinkle squash with salt and pepper.

Layer parsnips on top of squash, sprinkle with a little more mozzarella if using.

Sprinkle a little paprika over the top for color!

Bake about 45 minutes until bubbly.

This was really delicious. I love the way the sweet potato changed colors throughout the process. Once it was cooked, it was a deep, dark purple - about the color of red wine.