home sweet home

Even though the California’s skies are golden now, a week or two ago, they were stormy and dark. The best way to describe my life was with two words: miserable and cold. I finally understood why January has the highest suicidal rates. No sun, no fun, and no money= not a happy camper.

Every night I’d slowly make my home from school, soaked to the bone and dead tired. I had no energy to cook and basically subsisted on wheat thins, peanut butter, and progresso soup. Not necessarily in that order.

But last weekend, as the sun came back out, so did my appetite. My stomach cried out for fresh flavors, gooey cheese, smoky and sultry herbs, and hearty meat. You name it, I craved it. But I couldn’t figure out what I wanted still. But after seeing this recipe at The Kitchen Sink, I knew that a lasagna was in my near future.

When I think about a hearty and filling dinner, I immediately turn to turkey lasagna. While I stay away from beef as much as possible (fyi read Fast Food Nation), I enjoy it’s competitive counterpart. Throw a rich ricotta mixture on top of that with some sauteed vegetables and voila! Dinner is served. Strangely enough, I have never made lasagna on my own though so this was a culinary first for me.

It might take a bit of time to assemble this dish, but it pays off in the end. Because I’m quite the lazy sort, I didn’t parboil the pasta considering the sauce would cook them anyway. After I quickly sauteed the vegetables and turkey, I created the layers in my lasagna, starting with my sauce and then noodles then ricotta then mozzarella and sauce, etc. My only complaint regarding this was the amount of sauce in the bottom of the pan. It was little soggy, so next time I’d reduce the sauce to start out with and save it for the top.

The ricotta mixture was the best part of this dish. Seasoned with herbs de Provence and salt and pepper, it blended beautifully with the salty mozzarella and fresh tomato sauce. The egg keeps the ricotta from lumping and when you dig into it, it comes oozing out like silk.

My turkey lasagna made a ton, and lasted for a week. And strangely enough, I never got tired of it. Normally, I throw out leftovers within 2 days because I hate eating the same thing over and over again. But with this, I couldn’t get enough.

Turkey Lasagna
from this recipe at Epicurious

Ingredients:
2 large onions, chopped (about 2 cups)
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
2 carrots, chopped fine (I just diced them)
1 large red bell pepper, chopped fine (I just diced them)
A 28- to 32-ounce can whole tomatoes with thick purée (I left them whole)
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
1 teaspoon basil, crumbled (I substituted herbs de Provence)
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled (I substituted herbs de Provence)
1/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes (optional, I omitted it)
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
15 ounces part-skim ricotta (about 2 cups)
1 large egg, beaten lightly
2 scallions, chopped
twelve 7- by 3 1/2-inch sheets dry lasagna pasta
12 ounces part-skim mozzarella, grated (about 3 cups)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 1 ounce)

Directions:
In a heavy kettle cook onions and three fourths of garlic in oil over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened. Add turkey, carrots, and bell pepper and cook, stirring to break up turkey, until carrots are barely tender. Stir in tomatoes, wine, herbs, spices, and salt and pepper to taste, breaking up tomatoes, and simmer, uncovered, 25 minutes. Stir in remaining garlic and simmer 5 minutes. Sauce may be made 3 days ahead, cooled completely, and chilled, covered.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a bowl stir together ricotta, egg, scallions, and salt and pepper to taste.

Pour 1 cup sauce into a baking dish, 13 by 9 by 2 inches (sauce will not cover bottom completely), and cover with 3 lasagne sheets, making sure they do not touch each other. Spread about 2 cups sauce over pasta. Drop one third of ricotta mixture by spoonfuls onto sauce and gently spread with back of a spoon. Sprinkle one fourth of mozzarella over ricotta mixture and make 2 more layers in same manner, beginning and ending with pasta. Spread remaining sauce evenly over top, making sure pasta is completely covered, and sprinkle with Parmesan and remaining mozzarella.

Cover dish tightly with foil, tenting slightly to prevent foil from touching top layer, and bake in middle of oven 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake lasagna 10 minutes more, or until top is bubbling and golden. Let lasagna stand 5 minutes before serving.