Sweet Potato Lasagna

I love the kind of meals where the leftovers taste just as good as the dish the night it was cooked. Well, lasagna is the perfect meal from which to achieve these perfect leftovers. Recently, I've been experimenting with different kinds of Lasagnas to try to make them healthier and more nutritious than the regular Italian version.

My mom became gluten-free a year and a half ago, and she came up with the idea of using corn tortillas instead of noodles. I love making Mexican Lasagna this way. Check out my recipe for that here.

I decided I wanted a carb-free layer in addition to the corn tortillas this time, and thought thin slices of zucchini would be perfect. After you thinly slice the zucchini, lay it on a paper towel and sprinkle it with salt to make sure you get out most of the liquid. Zucchini contains a lot of water so if you skip this step, your lasagna might be a little soggy. 

The sauce for this lasagna is by far the best part of the whole dish. It's made by roasting sweet potatoes and pureeing them with milk and chicken stock. The result is a velvet-y smooth sauce that accompanies the ground turkey and onion mixture PERFECTLY.

Sweet potatoes contain beta carotene which is an antioxidant that gives the potatoes their bright orange color. Beta-Carotene is said to prevent many different types of cancer. Sweet potatoes also contain Vitamin A which helps promote healthy eyesight as well as healthy skin and hair. Lastly, sweet potatoes are e a great source of potassium which helps lower blood pressure.

Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes diced 

8 corn tortillas

1 onion- diced

3 cloves garlic- grated

1 lb. ground turkey

1.5 cups chicken stock

1 cup milk

2 zucchinis- thinly sliced, salted and patted dry. (read above directions)

1 cup part-skim ricotta

1 egg

2 cups spinach

1 cup shredded mozzarella

1 tbsp. olive oil

salt/pepper to taste

1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees

2) Peel and dice the sweet potatoes and roast them for 25-35 minutes or until tender

3) Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. 

4) Add sweet potatoes to a food processor with salt/pepper, chicken stock and milk and puree until a silky smooth sauce appears. (Add more liquid if necessary)

5) Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium high heat

6) Add onion and cook for 15-20 minutes or until caramelized 

7) Add ground turkey and heat until totally cooked through

8) Add garlic to turkey mixture with the red pepper flakes and more salt/pepper to taste. Mix around and taste for seasoning. Add more spices, if necessary.

9) Mix ricotta in a small bowl with the egg until completely incorporated

10) Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray

11) Pour 1/4 cup cold water on the bottom of the pan so the tortillas do not burn

12) To start building your lasagna, add corn tortillas to the bottom, top with half of the turkey mixture, and 1/3 of the sweet potato puree. Place zucchini strips on top and then add the ricotta mixture. Top ricotta mixture with the raw spinach leaves. Add the rest of the turkey mixture and more of the sweet potato purees. Line the top with the 4 remaining corn tortillas and pour the remainder of the sweet potato puree on top. 

12) Cover the lasagna with foil and cook for 30 minutes

13) Remove from oven and top with grated mozzarella cheese. Cook for additional 10 minutes uncovered.

14) Remove from oven and let sit for 20 minutes prior to eating so the lasagna stays together when you cut into it.