Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Slice zucchini into long, thin strips. Lay them out, sprinkle with salt & cover with a paper towel and let them sit for 5-10 minutes. This helps to eliminate some of the excess moisture.
* I cut off ½ inch from each end of the zucchini so it can stand up. Then use a sharp knife to carefully cut down. You could also use a mandolin slicer for this if you have one.
In a frying pan, sauté onions until translucent. Add in ground beef and cook for 8-10 minutes. Pour in tomato sauce and let simmer for 3-5 minutes.
Combine all ingredients for ricotta mixture
Push down paper towel on top of zucchini to soak in as much liquid as possible.
In a 9x13 glass baking dish, add 1 – 1 ½ cup layer of meat sauce to the bottom. Top with one layer of zucchini, then ~¾ cup ricotta mixture, then ~1/3 cup mozzarella cheese.
Repeat these layers two more times, ending with mozzarella cheese (I did a thicker layer on top, ~1/2 cup).
Bake for 35-40 minutes. For extra crispy cheese, broil for an addition 1-3 minutes (watching closely so it doesn’t burn)
