Recipe Of The Week – Bonfire Night Special

Aubergine and Turkey Lasagne

This is a perfect dish to put together when entertaining large numbers of friends and family. Simply multiply the ingredients to suit. It feels extremely indulgent but won’t derail any weightloss goals you may have.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 large carrot, peeled and grated
• 300g turkey breast mince
• 150g mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1 courgette, finely chopped
• a few sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 1x 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 350ml chicken/vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 bunch fresh basil
• 2 medium aubergine, cut into 2mm slices
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 300g cottage cheese
• 100g mature cheddar cheese, grated
• 2 tbsp milk

Method

1. Place a deep, heavy based frying pan over a medium heat and add the olive oil, garlic, onion and carrot and cook until softened.
2. Once softened, add the turkey mince, breaking up with a wooden spoon whilst it browns.
3. Add the mushrooms, courgettes, fresh thyme and chilli flakes and cook until the veg is soft.
4. Finally add the canned tomatoes, stock, balsamic vinegar, basil leaves and black pepper and stir to combine.
5. Bring the mixture to the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the liquid has sufficiently reduced.
6. Whilst reducing, heat up a griddle pan and brush with a little olive oil and griddle the aubergine slices for 30-60 seconds on each side – do this in batches to ensure each piece is nicely grilled.
7. Add the cottage cheese, 75g of the cheddar cheese and milk to a blender, and blend until smooth.
8. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan.
9. Using a large ovenproof dish (approx. 24 x 24 cm) assemble your lasagne.
10. We recommend the layers are combined in the following order: 1/3 turkey mince, 1/3 aubergine slices, ½ cheese sauce, 1/3 turkey mince, 1/3 aubergine, ½ cheese sauce, 1/3 turkey mince, 1/3 aubergine slices, the remaining 25g of cheddar cheese, sprinkled.
11. Once all of the layers are combined, cook in the preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes and serve immediately.