Middle Eastern Lasagna

Submitted by Ducky

"Found this recipe in the Sunday food section of our local newspaper. It says they got it from "The New Lasagna Cookbook." It sounded tasty so I tried it. It was easy to put together and was tasty (DH loved it). And it seemed much lighter than traditional lasagna as it uses phyllo in place of the lasagna noodle. And I'm sure that you could doctor this up anyway you like. I used ground beef, Italian parsley, feta in brine and a combo of fat free and light ricotta."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 20mins
• Ingredients: 15
• Serves: 8-12

ingredients

• 1⁄4 cup olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 lbs ground beef or 2 lbs ground lamb
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 6 ounces tomato paste
• 8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
• 3 cups ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1⁄4 cup chopped parsley
• 16 sheets phyllo dough, thawed if frozen
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled (3/4 stick)
• parsley, to garnish

directions

1. Meat:.
2. Over medium heat in large skillet, heat olive oil.
3. Add onion and saute 3-4 minutes.
4. Add meat and cook until done.
5. Drain grease/fat from meat/onion mixture.
6. Add tomato paste, salt, pepper, cumin and allspice, mixing until evenly coated.
7. Should be a thickened tomato sauce/paste - cook 3-5 minutes to achieve, if necessary.
8. Cheese:.
9. In large bowl, combine feta, ricotta, eggs and parsley and stir until blended.
10. Preheat oven to 375°F.
11. Coat a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with melted butter.
12. Line bottom of dish with 4 sheets of phyllo (cover remaining phyllo with damp cloth to prevent drying) and brush with melted butter.
13. Spread 1/3 of meat filling over phyllo.
14. Spread 1/3 of cheese filling over meat filling.
15. Cover with 4 sheets of phyllo and brush with melted butter.
16. Repeat layers until meat and cheese mixture is used up.
17. Cover with remaining 4 sheets of phyllo and brush with butter.
18. Cover with foil and bake 30-40 minutes.
19. Remove foil and bake additional 10-15 minutes or until top is golden brown.
20. Rest 5-10 minutes before serving.
21. Garnish with parsley, if desired.
22. Note: Can be made a day ahead -- cover and refrigerate overnight and bring to room temperature before baking.