Lasagna

The classic Italian dish Lasagna (Lasagne as the Italians would insist), is a rich and flavoursome meal that uses fresh and wholesome ingredients helping it become a family favourite over the years.

 Ingredients:

1 table spoon of olive oil
Cracked black pepper
½ pint of beef stock or similar
500g of lean steak mince
100g of mushrooms
1 large chopped red onion
¼ clove of garlic (or to taste)
15 grams of tomato concentrate
1 tin of quality chopped tomatoes
1 packet of lasagna sheets/preferably green, (Verdi)

White Sauce:
300ml of milk
150g of grated chedder
20g of butter
25g of plain flour

Cooking instructions and tips for lasagna:
Whilst heating the pan on a low heat with the oil chop the onion and finely chop the garlic.

Add the onions and turn up the heat to sweat for 30 seconds, then add the garlic. Immediately start breaking up the mince into the pan. Stir continuously until golden brown.

Some of the mince will start to water, feel free to drain any excess water for a lower fat option; add the pepper to your taste.

Add the chopped tomato and the tomato concentrate and then the mushrooms once the tomato is consistently spread; add the beef stock and leave on a simmer heat whilst preparing the white sauce.

Melt the butter in a pan being careful not to burn and sieve flour into the butter to avoid lumps and stir to consistency, add the milk. Stirring on a low heat will avoid any issues.

Once to a medium heat slowly add the cheese, stirring continuously, add more cheese to taste.
Better to use a Pyrex dish, but simply layer the meat, then pasta, then white sauce, then pasta, then meat and so on. The more pasta you use the drier the dish and likelihood of the lasagna keeping its form when cut into portions, but do try not to overlap pasta when creating your layers.

Make sure there is a white sauce layer on the top and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. At this point feel free to add Italian herbs, grated bread crumbs, chilli flakes and parmesan to your taste.

Bake in the oven at 180c  for 45-60 minutes and use a butter knife to push through to understand if the pasta has cooked.

Serve with a crusty bread role or a rocket side salad, but the most important thing… yet more parmesan!
  
serves 4-6 people