Traditional Lasagna
Traditional lasagna, its a labour of love but its delicious and my idea of comfort food. You can make it easier by buying the pasta sheets (please buy fresh and not dried as it makes all the difference), you can make the sauce a day in advance and buy pre-grated cheese. Anything to make life simpler is fine by me! If you're inspired you can make the pasta from scratch- I didn't do it this time, because I made this after a full day of work and couldn't be bothered!
You will need...
Sauce
600gr beef mince
3 400gr tins of whole peeled Italian tomatoes
1/2 brown onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp dried oregano
2-3 large bayleaves
2 tbs olive oil
1 cup red wine
100gr tomato paste
salt & pepper
1/2 tsp white sugar
Bechamel
80gr butter
5 tbs plain flour
1Lt milk
1/2 cup grated parmesan
salt
6 fresh pasta sheets
1/2 cup parmesan, extra
1 cup grated mozzarella
*I added some grilled eggplant for some sneaky veg, you could add some grilled zucchini or something else if you wish.
Method...
1. For the sauce, heat the oil in a large frypan and sweat the onion on a medium heat. Add the garlic and cook quickly then turn the heat to high and add the meat. Break the mince up (my trick is I use a potato masher to stop the mince chunking up), cook until browned. Add the tomato paste, oregano and some salt and pepper, stir to coat.
2. Add the wine and cook out then add the tinned tomatoes, refill each tin halfway and swirl to get any residual tomato juice and add to the pan. I use scissors to cut the whole tomatoes up into smaller chunks (quarters is fine) leave it a little bit chunky for texture.
3. Add the bay leaves, stir and bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 hour until nice and thick.
4. Meanwhile, make your béchamel by melting the butter in a heavy-based saucepan and then adding the flour and stirring quickly to combine and avoid lumps. When the mixture starts to froth, add the milk, about 1/2 a cup at a time, stirring quickly between each addition and making sure to add the milk quickly before the mix thickens too much (it will thicken instantly as you add the milk). If the mixture starts to become lumpy, whisk vigourously.
5. Once all the milk is added, season and leave to cook for 5 minutes on low then remove from heat, add cheese, stir. Cover and set aside until ready to use.
6. Grill your veggies if you're using them, or alternately grab some baby spinach, peas or something green to add to the sauce once its cooked.
7. To assemble, preheat oven to 180 degrees (fan forced). Grease a large ceramic baking dish. Remove 1 1/2 cups of the tomato sauce and set aside.
8. Place 1/3 of the sauce on the bottom of your ceramic baking dish, just enough to coat the bottom well. Smooth out the sauce, add a layer of the fresh pasta (no need to cook), then another 1/3 of the sauce and smooth out. Layer the veggies here if you like.
9. Use a spoon to evenly drizzle over 1/3 of the béchamel sauce. Place another layer of pasta over the béchamel, then spoon over the remaining 1/3 of the sauce, then 1/3 of the béchamel and then another (final) layer of pasta. Spread out the remaining béchamel over the final layer of pasta then sprinkle with the cheese.
10. Place in the oven, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes, until cheese is golden and the sauce is bubbling. To serve, place a little bit of the reserved sauce on each plate and then a slice of the lasagna on top (to stabilise it and stop it from sliding. Serves 6-8 people.
Serve with a side salad if desired- I just made a basic cos/romaine salad with tomato and cucumber and dressed it with the vegan caesar dressing I made the previous night.
You will need...
Sauce
600gr beef mince
3 400gr tins of whole peeled Italian tomatoes
1/2 brown onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp dried oregano
2-3 large bayleaves
2 tbs olive oil
1 cup red wine
100gr tomato paste
salt & pepper
1/2 tsp white sugar
Bechamel
80gr butter
5 tbs plain flour
1Lt milk
1/2 cup grated parmesan
salt
6 fresh pasta sheets
1/2 cup parmesan, extra
1 cup grated mozzarella
*I added some grilled eggplant for some sneaky veg, you could add some grilled zucchini or something else if you wish.
Method...
1. For the sauce, heat the oil in a large frypan and sweat the onion on a medium heat. Add the garlic and cook quickly then turn the heat to high and add the meat. Break the mince up (my trick is I use a potato masher to stop the mince chunking up), cook until browned. Add the tomato paste, oregano and some salt and pepper, stir to coat.
2. Add the wine and cook out then add the tinned tomatoes, refill each tin halfway and swirl to get any residual tomato juice and add to the pan. I use scissors to cut the whole tomatoes up into smaller chunks (quarters is fine) leave it a little bit chunky for texture.
3. Add the bay leaves, stir and bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 hour until nice and thick.
 |
| This chunky! |
4. Meanwhile, make your béchamel by melting the butter in a heavy-based saucepan and then adding the flour and stirring quickly to combine and avoid lumps. When the mixture starts to froth, add the milk, about 1/2 a cup at a time, stirring quickly between each addition and making sure to add the milk quickly before the mix thickens too much (it will thicken instantly as you add the milk). If the mixture starts to become lumpy, whisk vigourously.
5. Once all the milk is added, season and leave to cook for 5 minutes on low then remove from heat, add cheese, stir. Cover and set aside until ready to use.
6. Grill your veggies if you're using them, or alternately grab some baby spinach, peas or something green to add to the sauce once its cooked.
 |
| Grilled with s&p, olive oil and then drizzled with some balsamic |
7. To assemble, preheat oven to 180 degrees (fan forced). Grease a large ceramic baking dish. Remove 1 1/2 cups of the tomato sauce and set aside.
8. Place 1/3 of the sauce on the bottom of your ceramic baking dish, just enough to coat the bottom well. Smooth out the sauce, add a layer of the fresh pasta (no need to cook), then another 1/3 of the sauce and smooth out. Layer the veggies here if you like.
 |
| Check out my well-used ceramic dish! I have better ones but this one is a perfect size |
9. Use a spoon to evenly drizzle over 1/3 of the béchamel sauce. Place another layer of pasta over the béchamel, then spoon over the remaining 1/3 of the sauce, then 1/3 of the béchamel and then another (final) layer of pasta. Spread out the remaining béchamel over the final layer of pasta then sprinkle with the cheese.
 |
| Trim pasta to fit your dish if necessary |
 |
| Look at that beautiful colour |
Serve with a side salad if desired- I just made a basic cos/romaine salad with tomato and cucumber and dressed it with the vegan caesar dressing I made the previous night.
Comments
Post a Comment