"Spring Lasagna": Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage and Goat Cheese Lasagna

Hi all ... I'm dishing about a great recipe today!

{Italian Turkey Sausage and Goat Cheese Lasagna with tips for preparation and reduced-carb and gluten-free options!}

We love this unique lasagna so much that I think of it as my recipe, but it really comes from Ina Garten (The Barefoor Contessa).  I do have a couple of tips related to making this or any lasagna recipe and an optional ingredient substitution for any lasagna to make the dish low-carb {how we prepare this dish} and I want to share those before I give you the link to Ina's original version of this recipe.

My Two Lasagna Makin' Tips
Tip #1
Lots of lasagna recipes use fresh mozzarella, and as with any type of recipe, when you slice an ingredient it's important to have equal uniform "sizes" for consistent texture and cooking.  But slicing a slippery fresh mozzarella ball?!  This is a job for ... an egg slicer!

{Tip for making lasagna: slice fresh mozzarella with an egg slicer!}

Tip #2
Also used in this recipe is Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage.  In the grocery stores around here I can only purchase this item as a "sausage link" but this recipe calls for "bulk" sausage {not in a link casing}.  Honestly, at first I saw this as a road-block, but then I learned it wasn't hard it was easy to remove the casing from the sausage!  All you need is the back-side of a spoon.  Press down on the sausage link and slide across the link and "bulk" sausage will appear.  {Sorry, no pic, but try it, it works}.


My Optional Ingredient Substitution for a Low{er}-Carb Lasagna

We are one of those households that focuses on "good carbs" and likes to keep our carb count on the low side, along with other dietary considerations.  So it might surprise you that a lasagna recipe is one of our favs.  Figuring out how to remake classic comfort food dishes to reflect our carb preference has not always been easy and thinking about tweaking a recipe from a master such as Ina was a bit off-putting.  Luckily, all I had to do was make one small change.

{Reduce the carb-count / carb load in lasagna by replacing noodles with a whole-grain wrap!}

Instead of a lasagna noodles we use whole wheat "roll-up's" {flatbread / wrap}, layered just like a lasagna noodle.  This change not only saves carbs and calories in comparison to lasagna noodles but it saves the entire step of noodle cooking :)

The specific product we use is from Damascus Bakeries {we purchase these at Costco} and each whole wheat roll-up has only 10 net carbs and 110 "good" calories (per the packaging).  We use a total of 6 wraps per 13x9 pan of "lasagna" {don't know if I can really call it that without pasta as an ingredient} so our replacement adds only 60 net carbs to the whole she-bang.  Divide that net 60 carbs by a minimum of 9 servings from this pan, and that's a very hearty serving of lasagna with less than 7 net carbs from the noodle replacement!  For the carb-conscious this is very good news.  I don't have a box of lasagna noodles handy to compare the carb count but I know our roll-up option is significantly lighter on carbs and offers a hearty fiber component as well.  Also, if you eat Gluten-Free there are wraps produced for this dietary consideration as well, so you could also incorporate this substitution in your lasagna recipe!

And a Final Tip for Lasagna Lovers

This dish inspired me to start my own seasonal outdoor herb garden which has become a h-u-g-e tradition around here ... I have sightseer's stop by to gawk at how large my herbs grow!  Here's a pic from 2011 ...  

{That's 1 basil plant!  Have you ever seen so many leaves on 1 basil plant?  For more info follow the links below to read my 2011 posts on the EarthBox and freezing herbs.  You'll thank me!}

We're getting ready to plant our basil in the next week or so and I will certainly post about our 2012 experience, but in the meantime you might want to read these posts from last year, about the EarthBox growing system I use {read it here} and and how I freeze herbs {read it here}.  The EarthBox makes it possible for even high-rise dwellers with a balcony and good sun exposure to grow a hearty garden.  Really.  I grow my EarthBox on my deck and all you need is about a 3 foot x 2 foot space.  

Thanks for checking out this post and I hope you find my lasagna making tips helpful and you'll visit again for new recipes, more cooking tips, and my adventures in decorating.  Bookmark, Follow, or Pin {please} so you can find us again.

So what about your lasagna cooking experiences ... have any tips you'd like to share?  Any family lasagna recipes with unique ingredients and flavors?  Or do you head out to a nice quiet little family restaurant when the urge for lasagna strikes?

Now you should really check out Ina's recipe for Turkey Lasagna on the Food Network ... click here.

Linking With:

Kitchen Tip Tuesdays: How to make your food look as good as it tastes! | Tammy's Recipes

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