Bacon Lasagne

I think most mums have a few dishes that they cook on rotation for their family. They're quick & easy to make and don't cost a fortune to feed an army of children...One of my favourite meals was lasagne, and for some reason it usually appeared on the menu in our house on a Saturday! I associate it with everyone being home from school, college or work for the weekend, and the house being busier and louder than normal. Sometimes cooking an old familiar meal can brighten your day... even if it's never ever going to taste the same as when your mother made it.... (Sometimes it tastes better!!)

Since removing grains from my diet, I've experimented a bit with making lasagne... I've got to say, none of the alternatives really hit the spot. Replacing pasta sheets with thin strips of courgette and aubergine was fine... but it didn't look or taste like lasagne... 

I had almost given up hope, when one night, out of the blue I thought of using bacon...I must admit, it took a bit of self control to stay in bed and not start cooking at 1am.... I'm a little impulsive like that, and I get very excited about cooking and experimenting with food... and did I mention it's lasagne made with bacon??????

• 1lb minced turkey 
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 100g celery, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large carrot, finely chopped
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 200g organic passata
• 1 small can organic tomato paste
• 100g mushrooms, chopped
• fresh herbs of choice
• 200g streaky bacon, grilled until crispy
• 200g full fat cottage cheese

Start by grilling the bacon until crispy. Set aside to cool. 

Next add onion, garlic and celery to a saucepan with 1/2 tsp of coconut oil and sauté for 2-3 minutes just to soften and release flavour. 

Add minced turkey, and simmer over a medium heat until cooked through. 

Add carrot, pepper, all the tomatoes and mushrooms and simmer for 10 minutes over a low heat. This allows the vegetables to cook, and the sauce to reduce and thicken. 

Season meat sauce to taste at this point. (There's no point adding fresh herbs at the beginning as you'll lose their wonderfully fresh flavour through overcooking them)

Start by placing a layer of your meat sauce in the base of an oven proof baking dish. 

Add a layer of crispy bacon (try not to eat it as you assemble the lasagne or you won't have enough for the topping... not that I'm speaking from experience obviously!)  

Top with a layer of cottage cheese and some chopped herbs. 

Repeat until you have used up all ingredients.

Sprinkle with a little grated cheese if you want the top to brown in the oven.

Lasagne needs to have pasta? Really?? I don't think anyone will be searching for the absent grains in this dish. It was pretty amazing... so amazing in fact that I forgot to taste photos when I served it! The bacon layers held the lasagne together perfectly, and it looked just like the original but tasted so much better!