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Lasagne

A community recipe by Relly Fizzkitten

Not tested or verified by Nigella.com

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Introduction

Lasagne pie for 4-6, i put it on my blog once and it got rave reviews so I thought I'd share it here.

Ingredients

Serves: 4-6

Metric Cups

For the Meat Sauce

500 grams minced beef
200 grams chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato puree
300 millilitres beef stock
1 large onion (finely chopped)
1 stick celery (chopped)
2 cloves garlic
30 millilitres sunflower oil
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
1 tablespoon fresh parsley
125 millilitres dry white wine
1 pinch of freshly ground pepper
1 pinch of salt

For the Lasagne

300 millilitres white sauce
6 lasagne sheets
55 grams grated Parmesan (to finish)

For the Meat Sauce

18 ounces ground beef
7 ounces diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato puree
10½ fluid ounces beef broth
1 large onion (finely chopped)
1 stick celery (chopped)
2 cloves garlic
1 fluid ounces vegetable oil
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
1 tablespoon fresh parsley
4⅖ fluid ounces dry white wine
1 pinch of freshly ground pepper
1 pinch of salt

For the Lasagne

10½ fluid ounces white sauce
6 lasagne sheets
2 ounces grated Parmesan (to finish)

Method

Lasagne is a community recipe submitted by Relly Fizzkitten and has not been tested by Nigella.com so we are not able to answer questions regarding this recipe.

Heat the oil for about 30 secs, fry the mince - if you have a small pan, do a bit at a time and drain the cooked bits and stick it over/in/around a bowl or plate. Then throw it all together and leave it on a low heat while ... In a separate pan (I never said you couldn't get your friends to wash up after),

add the onion and celery and a touch more oil and fry for about 10 mins on a low heat until the onion is soft but not going too brown. Add the garlic and cinnamon and mix them in for about 2 mins.

Transfer into the bigger pan with the mince. Then next is the tomato puree, herbs, mustard seeds, tomatoes, stock and 125ml of white wine (that's a small glass - don't be tempted to flood it, the alcohol cooks off and you'll be left with a bitter brown puddle in 30 mins. Far better to have the cook sample a glass of wine while cooking anyway). Bring all this to the boil, then let it simmer for about 30 mins. Stir it frequently to make sure it doesn't stick.

Preheat the oven to about 190 degrees C, or gas mark 5. After 30 mins, skim off any floating fat and then boil it rapidly to reduce a lot more of the liquid (but not so its dry - its still meant to be meat sauce!).

While its doing this make up your white sauce. Season with salt and pepper. When the sauce is ready pick an ovenproof pie/casserole dish, spoon some of the meat on to the bottom, follow by the lasagne, and then the white sauce - either do one large layer (if you have a wide as opposed to deep casserole dish) or several smaller layers 2 strips of pasta wide. (I've seen different recipes that finish with 'always have (insert layer of choice) as your last layer'. Me, I don't think it matters. I usually end up with the white sauce layer and then sprinkle the cheese on top. So far, touch wood, no-one has ever refused to dine at my table because I picked the wrong layer to finish it on.)

Once you've used all of the above and got your cheese on top, bake it in the oven for 25-30 mins (less if you have a fan-assisted) or basically when its hot enough to strip your skin in the middle (no, this isn't a recommended method of temp testing) and the top is nicely browned and crispy. That's browned and crispy, not burnt to a crisp as is my usual method :/

add the onion and celery and a touch more oil and fry for about 10 mins on a low heat until the onion is soft but not going too brown. Add the garlic and cinnamon and mix them in for about 2 mins.

Additional Information

*FACT: I once got a 10/10 in home ec from my white sauce, my one and only show of prowess in that subject while still at school. I remember making potato pittas and promptly dropping them after taking them out of the oven. I still took them home and made my family eat them though. That was in the days i was scared of burning jacket potatoes in the microwave, so i did them on low for 5 mins. The old battleaxe who taught me nearly lost her hairpins.