Who doesn’t love lasagne? It was one of my favorites as a kid and I know it’s still something that I can put on my family table and the little stinkers won’t argue. It’s the rich meat sauce teamed with the creamy cheese top, simply irresistible even for fuss-pots. I try not to eat much pasta these days. I love it, of course, but my pot-belly is not such a fan. You don’t even miss it in this delicious turkey gluten free lasagne version. If you’re a die-hard pasta fan, you could either go traditional , or mix it up with a layer of each, you crazy thing!
Turkey gluten-free lasagne
Time: 2 hours, but you’re not standing at the stove cooking it. It needs simmer and bake time.
Serves: 6-8
Difficulty medium
What you need:
For the meat sauce:
• 3 leeks, tops discarded
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 kg turkey mince (or chicken if you prefer)
• 100g chopped bacon
• 2 tins of tomatoes
• 2 grated carrots
• ó cup of red wine
• ó cup of chicken stock
• 2 tbs tomato paste
• 2 tbs mixed herbs
• 2 bay leaves
For the ricotta béchamel:
• 30g butter
• 2 tbs gluten free flour
• 200g ricotta
• 2 ó cups of milk
• 1 bay leaf
• a pinch of nutmeg
• salt and pepper
• 130g grated cheese
What to do:
Put a large pot of water on the stove and bring to the boil.
Slice your leeks just to the middle and open them out and separate the layers.
Put the large outer layers into your boiling water for 5 minutes, remove then set aside. Chop the small
inner white stuff finely.
Add in a little olive oil, add your leek and garlic. When fragrant, add bacon and cook for a few minutes.
Chuck in turkey mince, and cook on a medium-high heat until cooked through.
Add tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, stock, herbs, bay leaves and wine. Give it a jolly good shimmy together, before adding carrot and continuing to stir for a moment.
Turn down low, pop a lid on and simmer for 30- 60 minutes, depending on how much time you have. Remove lid and simmer for a further 15 or sominutes until thickened and not very wet.
To make béchamel sauce, pop butter on the stove in a saucepan over a medium heat.
Make a paste with flour and 2 tablespoons of milk, add that to the butter, stirring well to cook out the flour. Add milk, whisking to get the lumps out. When it thickens slightly break ricotta through it.
Add bay leaf, and nutmeg before seasoning well. Leave to cook and thicken for a further 10-15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 180C.
To build lasagne, ladle a spoonful of sauce onto the bottom of lasagne dish. Add a layer of leek, then another layer of sauce. Pop cheese sauce on top, and then sprinkle with grated cheese on top.
Chuck in the oven and cook for about an hour or until the top is golden brown.
