Low-Fat Meaty Lasagna

Submitted by SusieQusie

"No ricotta or cottage cheese here! A creamy béchamel and plenty of Parmesan cheese round out this hefty, meaty lasagna that doesn't taste, look or feel _light_ or diet-ish. From the 2008 edition of The Best of America's Test Kitchen cookbook - they did all the tweaking and testing for me! Note - no precooking of the lasagna noodles needed!"

 

• Ready In: 2hrs
• Ingredients: 17
• Serves: 12

ingredients

• 1 medium carrot, peeled and chunked
• 1 lb cremini mushrooms or 1 lb white mushroom
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 (28 ounce) cans whole tomatoes with juice
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 cup minced onion
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt, to taste
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground black pepper, to taste
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 1⁄4 lbs lean ground turkey, 93% lean
• 2 cups 2% low-fat milk, divided
• 2 cups fat-free chicken broth, divided
• 1 bay leaf
• 1⁄2 cup minced fresh basil
• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 12 no-boil lasagna noodles, no-boil variety (Barilla recommended)

directions

1. Meat Sauce:

2. Place the carrots, mushrooms and garlic in the food processor and pulse until finely chopped - 10 pulses or so. Transfer to a bowl.
3. Add tomatoes with juice to the food processor and pulse till smooth - about 5 pulses. Set aside.
4. In a large Dutch oven or equivalent, combine 1 teaspoon olive oil, minced onion, salt and pepper. Cover and cook over medium heat until onion is soft, 3-4 minutes. Add the carrot/mushroom/garlic mixture and cook, uncovered, until the mushrooms release their liquid, 5-7 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and cook another 3-5 minutes or until liquid evaporates.
5. Stir in the tomato paste and cook until it begins to brown, 2 minutes or so. Stir in the turkey and 1 cup of milk. Cook, using a spoon to break up meat, until most of the milk has evaporated, 5-7 minutes.
6. Stir in the tomatoes, 1 cup of broth and the bay leaf. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce has thickened and most of the liquid has evaporated, 45-60 minutes.
7. Remove from heat, discard bay leaf and stir in the basil. Add more salt and pepper if needed.

8. Bechamel (white sauce):

9. Whisk the remaining 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of broth and flour together in a medium saucepan until smooth. Bring the mix to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil and the Parmesan cheese.
10. Heat oven to 425F and adjust rack to upper-middle position.
11. Spread 2 cups of the meat sauce in a 13 by 9-inch baking pan. Lay 3 noodles atop sauce. Repeat layers 3 more times, ending with noodles. Spread white sauce evenly on the top layer of noodles, leaving a 1-inch border around the sides.
12. Bake until lasagna is bubbling around the edges and the top is beginning to brown, 25-30 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 20 minutes before serving.
13. Make Ahead: The meat sauce and white sauce can be made and refrigerated up to 2 days. Reheat both before assembling lasagna.