Lasagne

Growing up in an Italian family, the staple food in your diet is pasta but if you skipped the pasta-making gene in your family like me, this recipe is ideal for you because I’m using packet sheets in my tasty lasagne. It's not cheating, it's just...smart cooking! This recipe is perfect for those nights when you’re in need of a good, hearty meal, especially during those chilly winter months.

Ingredients for Meat Sauce:

• 1 packet of pre-cooked lasagne sheets
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 500grams of beef mince
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 2 tins of diced tomatoes

Ingredients for Cheese Sauce:

• 3 cups of milk
• ½ cup of plain flour
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• ½ cup of grated parmesan cheese
• Extra ½ cup of parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese for topping

Step 3

Method for Meat Sauce:

1. Heat a deep frypan with a splash of olive oil and sauté the finely chopped onion and garlic for 5 minutes.
2. Add the beef mince and brown evenly.
3. Add the 2 tins of diced tomatoes along with the tomato paste and 1 cup of hot water.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Bring the sauce to the boil and simmer gently for 2 hours on low heat.
 

 

Step 3

Method for Cheese Sauce:

1. Melt butter in a saucepan on low heat and mix in plain flour.
2. Gradually add milk, blending all ingredients.
3. Increase heat and stir until sauce boils and thickens.
4. Add parmesan cheese.

Method for Assembling Lasagne:

Step 3

1. Take a square, deep casserole dish and spoon a soup ladle of meat sauce evenly on the bottom of the dish.
2. Place 2 lasagne sheets ontop of the meat sauce.
3. Add another ladle full of meat sauce ontop of the lasagne sheets.
4. Continue layering the meat sauce and lasagne sheets until the casserole dish is ¾ full. Make the final layer 2 sheets of lasagne.
5. Pour the cheese sauce evenly over the lasagne sheets. Evenly distribute ½ cup of parmesan cheese and ½ cup of mozzarella cheese over the white sauce.
6. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 45 minutes.