We Test a Raved-About Recipe for Valentine's Day

If you have children, the Valentine's Day table seems incomplete without a dish that features the holiday's red-and-white color scheme. This fabulously delicious turkey lasagna fits the bill, but serve a small slice with a big salad if you don't want a cholesterol arrow shot through your heart.

The original recipe, created by the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten, is spoken about in hushed tones by foodies, as if it were a gift from the heavens. It is the subject of rave reviews online, complete with quotes like, "Possibly the best lasagna in the entire world," and "This is the BEST lasagna I have ever had." On the Food Network web site, it has a perfect score of five stars.

It proved to best just as good as promised, but we added a few tweaks.

The first tweak is more like a quibble. The much-handled photocopy obtained from a relative, which may or may not have been the Contessa's original recipe, listed a 20-minute prep time. If this version ends up in your hands, don't believe it. Preparation took over an hour. Other tweaks are noted below.

The "Apologies to Ina" Turkey Lasagna Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons of O&Co basil-infused olive oil (Ina used plain)
• 1 cup minced yellow onion (we like tiny minced pieces as opposed to Ina's chopped onions)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 pound hot Italian turkey sausage and 3/4 pound sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed (Ina uses 1 1/2 pounds, sweet only)
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes in tomato puree
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh curly parsley (Ina uses flat-leaf, but the market was fresh out)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 2 teaspoons sea salt (Ina uses kosher salt)
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 pound lasagna noodles, cooked (Ina says soak them in hot tap water for 20 minutes–a little too chewy)
• 15 ounces part-skim ricotta (Ina uses whole milk ricotta)
• 3 to 4 ounces creamy goat cheese, crumbled
• 1 cup grated Parmesan (Ina sprinkled another quarter cup on top, but this recipe is already a cheese-fest.
• 1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 pound mozzarella, thinly sliced (Ina uses fresh mozzarella, which you can pick up still-warm at Burrini's Market in Randolph, but we used the supermarket brand because this dinner was on its way to costing as much as filet mignon)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix up the ricotta, parmesan and goat cheeses, and the egg, in a bowl. 

Then, saute the onions in oil until they're see-through, then add the sausage and cook until no pink remains. Put the garlic in for about 2-3 minutes, then add all the remaining ingredients, except the cheeses, and simmer for about 20 minutes. 

Layer in typical lasagna fashion, with sauce on top and bottom. Bake for about 30-35 minutes until it is bubbling all around the sides. Voila. And happy Valentine's Day.