Turkey or Chicken Lasagna with Sage and Three Cheeses

Today's recipe is a wonderful lasagna I created with some leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, plus the last of the sage from my garden. If the idea of turkey in lasagna seems strange, be open-minded; this tasted fantastic. I shared it with my brother Mark and his wife Lisa (who stopped by to give me a surprise which I'll blog about soon.) They both loved the lasagna, although Mark wondered if it would be considered *phase five* for South Beach.

That's a joke, but definitely this is a phase three dish for South Beach, or possibly phase two for a small serving as a once-in-a-while treat. I used low fat cheese and light sour cream to make it more South Beach friendly, but even with those changes, I never would have thought of making this without Dreamfields Lasagna. If you're been reading this blog for a while, you may remember my squeals of joy last May when the stores in my area finally started carrying it.

If you don't know about Dreamfields pastas, they're much lower in digestible carbohydrates than regular pasta, which means that they're lower on the glycemic index, and therefore more South Beach Diet friendly. I've been eating Dreamfields for several years now, and recommended it to literally hundreds of people.

This recipe is one where I wanted to experiment to see if the Dreamfields Lasagna could be used as a "no boil" lasagna noodle. If you haven't tried making lasagna without pre-boiling the pasta, you'll love this trick. You have to put more liquid in the sauce (since it's cooking the noodles) and increase the cooking time a little, but making lasagna is much less labor intensive using this method. I'm happy to report that the "no boil method" was a complete success in this recipe.

I made this using leftover turkey, turkey stock, and turkey gravy from Thanksgiving. If you don't have that you can use chicken, chicken broth, and cream of chicken soup and it will still be delicious. One caution before I give you that recipe: whether or not you're a South Beach dieter, don't freak out when you read the amount of cheese in this, because it makes a huge pan of lasagna. After you make it, you can enjoy it every once in a while, since it freezes very well. Now, here's some step-by-step photos of how I did it, with the complete recipe after the photos.

I picked the last of the sage from my garden, and used some of it in this dish. The flavor of sage intensifies when it's dried, but I want to try freezing some. I'll let you know how the freezing experiment turns out.

I made a sauce with turkey stock, turkey gravy, low fat sour cream, turkey, parmesan, and chopped sage.

Here's how the dried lasagna noodles look laid in the pan before the sauce is spooned over. They swell when they bake, so they don't have to fit exactly.

Dry noodles are topped with a layer of juicy sauce, then cheese. This is followed by another layer of noodles, more sauce, and a final layer of cheese.

Here's how the lasagna looked when it came out of the oven. The smell of this was really enticing.

Finally, as David has so charmingly explained, there's only one problem with making lasagna.

Turkey or Chicken Lasagna with Sage and Three Cheeses
(About 10 servings, original recipe from Kalyn's Aunt Ruth Ann, this version adapted quite a bit by Kalyn)

1 pkg. lasagna noodles (Use Dreamfields Lasagna for South Beach)
6 cups diced, cooked turkey (or chicken)
4 cups turkey stock, reduced to 3 cups (or use chicken stock)
16 oz. container sour cream (use low fat but not fat free for South Beach)
1 1/2 cups turkey gravy (or use 1 can cream of chicken soup, preferably Campbells)
1 cup plus 1 cup good quality grated parmesan cheese
1 T garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
2 T finely chopped fresh sage (or 1 T dried rubbed sage)
2 -3 cups grated mozarella cheese
1-2 cups grated low fat cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 F. Put 4 cups turkey stock in pan and simmer until reduced to 3 cups. While stock reduces, dice leftover turkey and finely chop sage. In another large skillet, mix together gravy (or canned soup) and sour cream, then wisk in stock. Add diced turkey, sage, garlic powder and onion powder, and simmer about 5 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in one cup parmesan cheese.

In large 13" X 9" glass casserole dish, make a single layer of dry lasagna noodles. (You may have to break some noodles to fit.) Spoon half the sauce over noodles. (It will look like a lot of liquid, but don't worry.) Top with half of mozarella and half of cheddar cheese, then sprinkle over 1/2 cup parmesan.

Make another layer of dry lasagna noodles, then top with rest of sauce, mozarella, cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese. Cover dish tightly with tin foil, put in oven and bake one hour. After an hour, remove foil and bake 30-45 minutes more, or until noodles are soft when tested with a fork, lasagna is bubbling, and cheese is melted and slightly browned. Let sit 10 minutes, then serve.

This is my post for Weekend Herb Blogging, which is back home at Kalyn's Kitchen this weekend. Check out the rules, and if you're participating, send your permalink to kalynskitchen AT comcast DOT net by 3:00 P.M. on Sunday. Be sure to include a link to Kalyn's Kitchen with the words Weekend Herb Blogging.

Sage is a wonderful herb, although it can be bitter if too much is used. It's often combined with thyme, especially in dishes with beans, poultry, or in the stuffing used for turkey. Here are a few other sage dishes you might like to try:

Whole Wheat Stuffing with Sage, Italian Sausage and Pears
Sausage and Lentils with Fried Sage
Pumpkin Risotto with Sage and Cherry Tomatoes from Stephen Cooks
Roasted Butternut Squash and Sage Carbonara from Stephen Cooks

Linguini with Sage Burnt Butter Sauce and Sauteed Sweet Potato from Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once
Veak Saltimbocca with Fried Sage Leaves from Is It EDible?
Marinated Feta with Herbs from The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz.

(Some recipes I found might not be South Beach diet friendly, so if you're a dieter, read the ingredients. There were a lot of good recipes for sage, so if I missed your favorite sage recipe, feel free to leave the link in a comment.)

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Tags:
Food Recipes Cooking South Beach Diet Recipes
Low Carb Recipes Low Glycemic Index Recipes
Weekend Herb Blogging