white lasagne

Back when I made that cannelloni, I thought to myself: these crepes would be great in a lasagne too! So tonight I gave it a go.

I had in mind a different kind of lasagne. One with a white sauce instead of the traditional tomato based sort of ragu. And since we had meatballs last night (why yes, pretty much that same meal as a matter of fact) I felt like we should opt for a little less red meat. So ground turkey browned with some chopped up onion. I think white onions taste mellower than yellow which is what I used to always cook with. And kale sauteed up with some garlic and a splash of lemon juice to keep that bright green color. And a creamy beschamel which is basically just a white sauce but more fun to say.

It tasted good, but it didn't have the right consistency. I was sort of distracted when I layered the cannelloni crepes (made a little thicker for the purposes of a lasagne) with the sauce and the kale and the cheese and the turkey and after it was too late I thought to myself: I think I might have done that wrong. To make amends (and clear out my fridge) I tucked in a few slices of crisped prosciutto under the last layer of cheese+beschamel. I love prosciutto.

I realize now that the turkey would have benefited from being mixed into the beschamel. The ground turkey meat I bought was really lean so there was very little grease when I cooked it up. It wasn't dry per se, but like I said: it would have benefited from being mixed into the beschamel. The kale of course is to keep us honest nutrition-wise. M likes it when I incorporate a few extra leafy greens or vegetables into every meal. Makes him feel a little less guilty about eating a meatball sub when there's a side of braised garlic spinach. Or when he's digging into a creamy cheezy mac'n'cheese when it's studded with some organic broccoli. And if it doesn't adversely affect the taste, I'm all for it too.



And on the side I served a chopped salad reminiscent of the one we order from La Scala (they have a killer spaghetti bolognese that we get with it). They use iceberg lettuce in their chopped salad and are a little skimpy with the salami in my opinion. I got green leaf and romaine which I think are sturdier lettuces that hold up well to the chopping and dressing. I add to it a satisfying amount of salami, garbanzo beans, tomato and mozzarella cheese and I would have added some chopped up kalamata olives too, but I didn't have any in my fridge as I'd thought. The dressing is a drizzle of olive oil with a splash of white vinegar, salt and pepper.

It made for a filling and satisfying meal.