Turkey lasagna with caramelized onions

      My friend Tanushree had just got done with a major presentation and it was a good reason to celebrate. She is one of my best cooking buddies but sadly we do not get chance to spend time in kitchen together very often.. Made good use of one such rare evenings with all smiles !! Lasagna was the first Italian dish (leaving pizza aside) I have ever tried.  This dish was an experiment since I have forgotten how I made it a year ago. Thanks to our blog that the recipe is getting noted down this time ..for you and me :)
The Turkey lasagna with caramelized onions turned out to be delicious and all of us ate way more than we could / we should.

Serves: 6-8
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time : 30 mins
Ingredients:

• Lasagna sheets (~ 10 sheets)
• Ground turkey (1lb); Can be substituted with chicken or more veggies like cauliflower, mushroom to make veg lasagna.
• Olive oil / butter (2 tbsp)
• Shredded mozzarella cheese (2-3 cups);
• Onion (1 medium sized sliced)
• Garlic (4 cloves chopped well)
• Red and yellow peppers ( 2-3 medium sized, sliced);
• Tomatoes (1 -2 chopped)
• Cilantro (3-4 tbsp chopped )
• Italian seasoning (2tbsp); 
• Ground black pepper (2 tsp)
• Ground thyme (1 tsp)
• Hot sauce and ketchup (to taste and optional; I like HOT food )
• Salt (to taste)
• Cilantro leaves for garnishing
• Caramelized onion rings for garnishing.

Method :

Turkey filling

• Preheat oven at 350 degrees F.
• Bring water to boil in a large container (so that lasagne sheets fit intact) and add sheets. Boil for 10-15 minutes with intermittent stirring. Drain hot water and rinse with cold water to prevent sheets from getting sticky. Set aside.
• Turkey Filling: 
• In a small pan, heat 1 tsp olive oil, and add onion rings and allow them to cook in low heat until caramelized. After few minutes add garlic. Fry well for ~ 5 mins.
• Add chopped peppers now and cook for another 5-10 mins. 
• Add  tomato and turkey/ chicken and mix well.
• Add spices (italian seasoning, thyme and black pepper) and stir everything well.
• Cook covered  in medium flame for ~ 20 mins. Allow the filling to cool slightly before layering.

Layering the lasagna

• Layering:  
• Layer a  9 inches by 12 inches pan with 1/ 3rd of lasagna sheets. 
• Add layer of cooked turkey on it (about half ). 
• Sprinkle Mozzarella cheese and add hot sauce and ketchup on it. 
• Repeat layers one more time, ending with lasagna noodles on top.
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 F for 30 mins. 
• Caramelize onion rings separately in 1 tsp olive oil.
• Garnish with caramelized onion rings, cilantro and Italian seasoning.

Serving Merlot from Whole foods with this dinner was an excellent idea !!
Recipe might seem a little complicated (blame my novice writing style) but it's not...It is surely time consuming so can be saved for special nights, or done ahead of time. :)  Give it a shot.

Buon apetito!!

Ajanta from Amherst


PS : Sorry that I did not take a final pic of it !!