INGREDIENTS:
Red Sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 large onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (or a mix of dried oregano and basil)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
White Sauce:
3 cups milk (not skim, I used 1%)
5 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Lasagna noodles, no boil type
1 pound ground turkey
1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
8 ounces Parmesan cheese, shredded
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking pan.
In a large skillet, brown the ground turkey.
Sautee garlic and onion in olive oil and butter. If desired puree onion. Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Stir to combine.
Then add the diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir.
Cover and let the sauce sauce simmer for 30 minutes over medium-low
heat, stirring occasionally. Right before using the red sauce in the
lasagna, stir in the reserved ground turkey.
While the red sauce simmers, if using lasagna noodles that need to be
boiled, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and boil the
noodles for half the time suggested on the box. Once the noodles are
cooked, drain, but do not rinse. Add a dab of olive oil to keep them
from sticking together. If you are using no-boil noodles, you can skip
this step.
Also while the red sauce is cooking, melt the four tablespoons butter, add the flour, stirring constantly to combine. Add in the milk, whisking constantly. Add the salt and pepper. Continue slowly stirring or
whisking while the white sauce cooks and thickens quite a bit, about 5-7
minutes.
To begin layering the lasagna, keep in mind that you’ll have three
layers of noodles as well as three layers of the sauces and cheese – so
plan on splitting all the sauce and cheese piles into thirds so you
don’t run out at the end! On the bottom of your lightly greased baking
pan, layer three pre-boiled noodles or four no-boil noodles, slightly
overlapping the no-boil noodles. Layer the red sauce, white sauce,
Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, spreading all to the edges and top with
another layer of noodles. Again, layer the red sauce, white sauce,
Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses and top with the final layer of noodles.
Layer the sauces and cheeses again.
Cover the lasagna with a greased layer of aluminum foil and bake for
30 minutes to 1 hour depending on oven. Remove the foil and let the lasagna sit for 15 minutes
before cutting and serving.
Make Ahead Instructions: Follow the recipe, letting the red and
white sauce cool to room temperature before assembling. Assemble the
lasagna as indicated in the recipe. Cover and refrigerate for up to 12
hours. Bake according to the recipe, adding an additional 5-10 minutes
if needed. Alternately, the lasagna can be covered with a double layer
of aluminum foil and sealed inside a jumbo-size ziploc bag. Freeze for up to 2-3 months. Bake from frozen
for 1 1/2 hours covered. Uncover and bake for another 45 minutes to an
hour, until the lasagna is hot and bubbly. Let sit for 15 minutes before
serving.
From: Mels Kitchen Cafe
