Turkey Lasagna

Lasagna is wide flat pasta, placed in alternating layers with cheese, sauce plus other ingredients such as ground beef, sausage or spinach and is characteristic of the Italian cuisine with many regional variations. In Southern Italy the sauce is expected to be a simple tomato sauce or a ragù and in Northern Italy a Béchamel sauce is used. Lasagna Verdi which means "green lasagna" is pasta that incorporates cooked spinach.

Ingredients serve 6

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large brown onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1kg turkey mince
500 g basil and pasta sauce
500 g natural yoghurt
200 g ricotta cheese
½ tsp ground nutmeg
100 g parmesan, grated
250 g frozen spinach, thawed
1 pack oven ready lasagna sheets (250g)
1 tsp mixed dried herbs

Method

Preheat oven to 180ºC. Heat oil in a large heavy based frying pan, cook onion and garlic until onion is softened. Add turkey mince and cook until browned. Add basil and pasta sauce, mixed dried herbs to pan and simmer for 10 min. then remove from heat.

Place yoghurt, ricotta, nutmeg and 75 g parmesan into a bowl and combine.

Spread a thin layer of turkey sauce mince into the base of a medium 2 liter capacity ovenproof dish. Add a layer of lasagna sheets then top with approx. 500 g turkey sauce mix, covered with 225g of yoghurt mixture. Spread half the spinach on top. Repeat with a layer of lasagna sheets and the remainder of turkey sauce. Place the last of the lasagna sheets, yoghurt mixture and spinach then sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese. Bake for 45 minutes. Serve wedges of lasagna with salad.

Note:  Homemade basil and pasta sauce is preferred however jars of sauce are available at most supermarkets. A cheese sauce can be used instead of the yoghurt mix topped with a tasty shredded Italian cheese. Leftovers can be placed in the fridge or freezer in food wrap and reheated in microwave or oven. Serve with a crusty piece of Italian sour dough bread.

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