Zucchini casserole with minced meat and cheese

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 800 g zucchini, yellow or green
• 500 g minced beef
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 m.-sized onion(s)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 500 g tomatoes, chopped
• 3 tsp tomato paste
• some agave syrup
• Salt and pepper, freshly ground
• Allspice berries, freshly ground
• 2 tsp oregano, dried
• 100 ml vegetable stock
• 100 ml milk
• 200 g processed cheese, creamy and spicy
• some sauce thickener, light
• salt and pepper
• 200 g mozzarella, grated for sprinkling

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes

for a sufficiently large casserole dish

Prepare a sufficiently large casserole dish. Peel the onions and dice them into small cubes. Peel and finely dice the garlic cloves. Wash the zucchini, trim the ends, and slice them into approximately 5 mm thin slices. Arrange half of the zucchini slices in a shingle pattern on the bottom of the casserole dish. Set the dish and the remaining vegetables aside for now. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan. Brown the ground beef, onions, and diced garlic. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste and season with salt, pepper, allspice, and oregano. Mix everything well and simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes. Season to taste with a little agave syrup (or sugar) and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Meanwhile, heat the milk and vegetable stock in a small saucepan. Add the processed cheese and stir until melted. Thicken with a little light sauce thickener, if desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour the prepared minced meat and tomato mixture into the baking dish. Arrange the remaining zucchini slices on top. Pour the cheese sauce over the top. Finally, sprinkle with grated mozzarella. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (convection oven) for about 40 minutes on the middle rack.