Lasagne

My twist on the classic Italian recipe for Lasagne.

Ingredients

Putting it all together
Lasagne Pasta sheets.
A small amount of grated cheddar cheese.

Bolognese Sauce
500g Beef mince.
800g Tinned Tomatoes.
1 onion, finely chopped.
Garlic, 2 cloves finely chopped.
Salt and Pepper.
1 tsp Mace.
3 tsp Sugar
4-5 Bay leaves, dried.
Red Wine, ½ glass.

White Sauce
50g Plain Flour
50g Butter
250ml Milk
75g Grated Cheddar Cheese

Directions: Bolognese Sauce

Heat a pan with a little oil in it and put in the garlic and onions. Cook until the onions start to soften.

Next add the mince and cook for 5-10 minutes until completely brown.

Add the tomatoes and stir gently until thoroughly mixed.

Season with the Salt and Pepper, Mace, Bay Leaves, Sugar and Red wine. Make sure to taste the sauce as you are adding the ingredients to make sure it is seasoned to your liking.

Once everything is in the pot, turn the heat down so it is just simmering slowly. Cook for 15-20 minutes stirring every so often. While the sauce is simmering you can move onto preparing the white sauce.

Directions: White Sauce

In a cold pan, add the Flour and Butter. If you can, break the butter up into small chunks, this helps it melt more evenly.

Turn on the heat and stir constantly until the butter is completely melted and has mixed with the flour to make a runny sort of paste. Do not let the butter boil or burn.

Once the paste has formed, add all the milk. Again, stir constantly and do not let it boil. The aim is to keep the milk moving until it thickens completely.

After the sauce has thickened, remove it from the heat and stir in the grated cheese until it melts.

Directions: Putting it all Together

Place a thin layer of about one third of the Bolognese sauce in the bottom of the Lasagne dish. Then place a small amount of the white sauce on top of the Bolognese sauce.

Place a layer of the Lasagne sheets on top of the sauce layers.

Repeat the process two more times so you have three layers of sauce and pasta.

Pour the remaining white sauce over the top of the Lasagne and spread it evenly across the entire surface. Once the sauce is evenly spread, sprinkle the remaining grated cheese over the top.

Cook the Lasagne in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes or until golden brown on top.

One of the best things about Lasagne is that the leftovers always taste better the next day. Who knows why? Definitely one of my all time favourite recipes.