It recently came to my attention that I had never made homemade lasagna, which seemed like a major oversight on my part – I’ve made a Greek version of lasagna, called pastitsio, which involves tubular pasta (similar to ziti) rather than flat noodles and a layer of béchamel sauce, but never a traditional lasagna! New Year’s Eve this past year was as good a time as any for lasagna, I decided, since I was at home with my family and I much prefer cooking a big meal for a group of people rather than just one or two of us. I’ve more commonly seen spinach or zucchini in lasagna, but I used broccoli instead, taking my cue from a Martha Stewart casserole I’ve made several times. It was definitely a good decision. We gobbled up nearly the whole thing, and my parents’ dog kept eyeing it as well, hoping for a taste – he reminded me a little bit of Garfield, actually. Sorry little dude! No such luck this time, but at least you got some broccoli and cheese while I was cooking. I got a cookbook for dogs for Christmas, though, so perhaps sometime soon…
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/4 pounds ground turkey
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1 pound broccoli
- 8 ounces mozzarella, cut into small cubes
- 1 cup grated parmesan, divided
- 1 1/2 cups low-fat cottage cheese
- 1 egg
- 1 package (12 ounces) oven-ready lasagna noodles
- salt and pepper
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9 x 13 baking pan (at least 2 inches deep) with oil or cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large non-stick skillet, heat oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Add diced onion and thyme. Sauté until onion pieces are translucent and soft, about 10-12 minutes.
- Add minced garlic and ground turkey. Break up the turkey with a wooden spoon and cook until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add flour and stir until the flour has been incorporated.
- While the turkey is cooking, prepare the broccoli by removing the tough outer skin and separating out bite-size florets. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil and parboil the broccoli until soft (but not overly so), about 3-4 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool. Once cooled, chop roughly.
- Add canned tomatoes (along with the juice) to the skillet and gently break the tomatoes into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon. Cook until sauce has thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, garlic powder, parsley, and oregano, and simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the cottage cheese, egg, and 1/2 cup grated parmesan.
- Spread about 1 to 1 1/3 cups of tomato and meat sauce on the bottom of the prepared pan. Layer ingredients in the following order: a single layer of oven-ready lasagna noodles, one half of the cottage cheese and egg mixture, a single layer of noodles, half of remaining tomato and meat sauce, half of chopped broccoli pieces, a single layer of noodles, remaining cottage cheese and egg mixture, half of remaining broccoli (one quarter of total amount of broccoli), half of mozzarella cubes, a single layer of noodles, remaining tomato and meat sauce, remaining broccoli, remaining mozzarella cubes, remaining parmesan.
- Coat one side of a piece of foil with oil or cooking spray. Cover the baking pan with foil, with the coated side facing down. Bake for 50 minutes, then remove foil and bake an additional 10-15 minutes.
- Inspired by Everyday Food (November 2009).
Looks and sounds delicious! I have to try this recipe soon 🙂
Thanks! I highly recommend it!
Omg that lasagna looks sooo good! I wish I lived near you so that I could taste test all of these yummy recipes haha! 🙂
It would be pretty awesome if you lived near me…though I can’t say I recommend moving to Michigan in the winter! We need hearty dishes like lasagna to keep warm around here 😛