It’s time I started helping you with Thanksgiving dinner ideas. I like to see how I can take traditional items and see how I can make them a little different. So, how about turkey lasagna? You can approach this two ways. One, make traditional lasagna with marinara and mozzarella, but substitute the turkey instead of the beef. I’ll provide a recipe for that.
Or, go all in with the T-Day fixin’s on lasagna noodles. Instead of tomato or marina sauce, use turkey gravy. Use Gouda and sharp cheddar cheese instead of mozzarella. Maybe throw in some peas and carrots between the noodle layers. Then on top, lay down a layer of stuffing, but don’t do it until the rest has cooked halfway in the oven. That way you can crisp it but not burn it. Leave some gravy or cranberry sauce on the side to dip pieces in. This would be good to use the leftovers for too.
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian turkey sausage
One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes in tomato puree
One 6-ounce can tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound lasagna noodles
15 ounces ricotta cheese
3 ounces creamy goat cheese, crumbled
1 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling
1 egg
1 pound mozzarella
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more
minute. Add the sausage and cook over medium heat, breaking it up with a fork until no longer pink. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of parsley, the basil, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat, for 20 minutes or until thickened.
Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with the hottest tap water. Add the noodles and allow them to sit in the water for 20 minutes. Drain.
In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, goat cheese, 1 cup of Parmesan, the egg, the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.
Ladle 1/3 of the sauce into a 9 by 12 baking dish, spreading the sauce over the bottom. Then layer like this: half the pasta, half
the mozzarella, half the ricotta, and one 1/3 of the sauce. Add the rest of the pasta, mozzarella, ricotta, and finally, sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling.