166 – Lasagna with Ground Turkey and Béchamel sauce Recipe

Ingredients :

• Meat: 1 pound ground meat (turkey, chicken, or beef)
• Meat: 2 garlic cloves (crushed)
• Meat: 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
• Meat: 1 medium sized onion (grated)
• Meat: 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Meat: 2 teaspoons Italian herbs + 1 teaspoon salt + 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• Tomato Sauce: 4 medium sized tomatoes (grated)
• Tomato Sauce: 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Tomato Sauce: 2 garlic cloves (crushed)
• Tomato Sauce: 1 cup pasta sauce (marinara)
• Tomato Sauce: 2 teaspoons Italian herbs + salt + pepper
• Bechamel Sauce: 2 tablespoons butter
• Bechamel Sauce: 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Bechamel Sauce: 2 cups milk
• Bechamel Sauce: fresh nutmeg (grated) + salt
• Other: Lasagna sheets (that are ready to bake and do not need to be boiled)
• Other: grated parmesan cheese

Directions :

Making the Meat Sauce:
1- First we are going to make the meat sauce. For the meat, I am using 1 pound of ground turkey but feel free to use ground chicken or ground beef.
2- Add 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon of finely chopped parsley, 1 grated medium sized onion, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 2 teaspoons of Italian herbs that you can get from the supermarket, 1 teaspoon of salt, and a ¼ teaspoon of pepper.
3- Mix all the ingredients together. Cover the bowl with a wrap, place it in the fridge, and let the meat marinate for 30 minutes.
4- To make the tomato sauce, we are to going grate tomatoes.  Nothing mysterious, just cut each tomato in half, grate it, and discard the skin.
5- In a sauce pan, drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 4 grated tomatoes, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 2 teaspoons of Italian herbs, and season with salt and pepper. Mix well and cook the tomatoes for 15 minutes on medium heat.
6- The sauce will start bubbling and will fill your kitchen with wonderful aromas. Add the marinated ground meat to the tomatoes, and 1 cup of standard pasta sauce that you usually use. I am just using marinara sauce that I bought from the supermarket.
7- Mix all the ingredients together, and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes or until the meat is done.At the end, don’t forget to taste your meat sauce and adjust the spices accordingly: Italian herbs, salt, and pepper.

Making the Bechamel Sauce:
1- The next step is to make the Bechamel sauce. First, on medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan then add 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Mix well using a whisk and cook on medium heat until the mixture starts bubbling. At this point, add 2 cups of milk. So here is the secret of béchamel sauce, basically keep stirring the whole time!
2- Once you add the milk, cook the mixture on medium heat and keep stirring until the milk reaches a boiling point. After the milk reaches a boiling point, watch your timer, and continue cooking the sauce for 10 minutes. Remember, stir constantly.
3- You will notice that the sauce will become thick and since you have been stirring all the time, the sauce will be smooth!
4- Place the béchamel sauce in a bowl and season with freshly grated nutmeg and salt.

Final Steps:
1- Now the fun part – layering the lasagna. First pour some of the meat sauce in your baking dish, then cover with
lasagna sheets.
Note that the lasagna sheets I am using are ready to bake and do not need to be boiled, so make sure to read the description and instructions on your lasagna box.
2- On top of the lasagna sheets add a layer of meat sauce, a layer of béchamel sauce, and grated parmesan cheese! Add another layer of lasagna and continue doing the same thing until you end with a layer of lasagna, béchamel sauce, and cheese.
3- Preheat your oven to 375 F degrees.
4- Bake your lasagna for 45 minutes or until done. You know it’s done when you are able to easily insert a knife in the center, which means the lasagna cheets are cooked.
And that’s it – it’s ready to be served. Hmmmm look at all this goodness.
Bonne appétit