Sweet Potato Ricotta Lasagna

1	onion (yellow or red), diced
2	cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 cup	basil, freshly chopped
1 cup	oregano, freshly chopped
3 sprigs	rosemary, freshly chopped
¼ cup	thyme, freshly chopped
¼ cup	marjoram, freshly chopped
1 Tbs	parsley, freshly chopped
	salt and pepper to taste
2 lbs	ground meat of choice (try to find a “primal” version that is mixed with organ meats)
3 cups	tomatoes, diced
3 cups	tomato puree
1 cup	tomato paste
¼ cup	red wine (sulfite-free is a good option)
3 lg	sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into lasagna-style pasta sheets, about half a finger’s thickness
2 Tbs	oil or fat of choice
1½ cups	whole milk mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
1½ cups	ricotta cheese
½ cup	heavy whipping cream
1 lg	egg
¼ cup	Parmesan cheese, freshly shredded

1. On medium-low heat, sauté onions, garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper in fat until onions are translucent.
2. Add meat on low heat and cook (stirring vigorously to avoid clumping) until lightly browned.
3. Add all tomatoes and wine, and simmer for about two and a half hours (one hour with the lid on, one and a half hours with the lid off) to create the Bolognese sauce.
4. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Drizzle sweet potato slices with oil or fat (very, very little or they will be too soggy!) and bake on parchment paper until soft (about 20 minutes).
5. Combine 1 cup mozzarella, ricotta, heavy whipping cream, and egg in a saucepan, and cook on medium-low heat until mozzarella is melted.
6. Layer the lasagna in a 9x13 pan as follows: one-third of the sweet potato “pasta,” one-third of the Bolognese sauce, then half of the ricotta sauce. Repeat. For the third layer, use remaining sweet potato and Bolognese, then top with remaining ½ cup mozzarella and Parmesan, which will enable the top to bake to a light golden layer. Optional: top with any leftover fresh basil or oregano before placing in the oven.
7. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Bake the lasagna for 20 minutes, or until the top is a golden color.

   In place of the sweet potato, you can use whole-grain or gluten-free lasagna pasta sheets, or even sliced eggplant, zucchini, or another vegetable for variation or for a less sweet taste. Experiment with what is in season. You can use this Bolognese sauce on any kind of pasta as well, including zucchini pasta.

   For a vegan Bolognese sauce, shred carrots, onions, cauliflower, zucchini (or whatever vegetables are in season) in a food processor to yield about 6 cups. Quickly sauté on medium-low heat. Add tomatoes and wine and simmer for 45 minutes. For a thicker sauce, add 1 cup of drained and rinsed chickpeas that have been made into a paste in the food processor, and simmer up to an hour. Replace the ricotta sauce with a vegan bechamel sauce—there are many great recipes online and in books. Our personal favorite is Diana Sanfilippo’s sauce in Mediterranean Paleo Cooking.

   There are many great recipes online and in books for making and preserving your own tomato sauces. If you have to buy store bought, aim for organic sauces in glass jars, BPA-free cans, or boxes that can be reused or recycled. We use so much tomato sauce that inevitably we run out and have to buy it from the store during the colder months when tomatoes are not in season.

   If you cannot tolerate tomatoes, find a tomato-free marinara sauce online and use the same quantities. Our favorite with this recipe is Jenni Hulet’s marinara sauce, which you can find on her blog, The Urban Poser.