Lauren’s Lovely Lasagne Recipe

I love how there are so many different delicious ingredients you can add to a lasagne. This recipe serves 4 generous sized portions. I like to serve my lasagne with some rustic garlic bread or a side salad. This is how I make mine:

Ingredients:

• splash of cooking oil
• 500g lean beef mince
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 large onion diced
• 5 medium sized mushrooms diced
• 1 grated carrot
• 1 stick of celery thinly sliced
• 3 cubes of frozen spinach or 2 big handfuls of fresh
• 1 small glass of red wine (you can use any kind)
• 1 small handful of red or green lentils (this is good for bulking it out)
• 1 heaped teaspoon of oregano
• 1 heaped teaspoon of basil or a bunch of fresh if you have it. The stems are also great for flavour
• 1 Beef stock cube
• 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
• 500g of passata
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes (400g)
• lasagne pasta sheets (About 12 sheets)
• salt and pepper for seasoning

For the topping:

• 400g béchamel sauce
• 125g grated cheese
• 80g fresh mozzarella cheese
• 1 tomato thinly sliced
• A sprinkle of oregano

Method:

1. In a slightly oiled hot pan, cook the mince and drain if needed
2. Add the lentils, chopped garlic, onion, mushrooms, carrot, mushroom and celery, fry the ingredients off for a couple of minutes or so
3. Add the red wine
4. Add the passata and chopped tomatoes
5. Sprinkle in the herbs
6. Add the balsamic vinegar
7. Allow to simmer for a while, then add the spinach
8. Let this simmer for at least one hour. If it starts to reduce too much, then gradually add the beef stock with some hot water.
9. Season to taste with salt and pepper
10. Allow to cool slightly
11. Grab an oven proof dish at least 2 inches deep
12. Add a thin layer of the mix into the dish and then top with a layer of lasagne sheets. Repeat until the dish is almost full (2 – 3 layers). If you like, add a bit of cheese in between the layers.
13. On the top layer of pasta sheets, pour the béchamel sauce over equally.
14. Sprinkle the grated cheese over evenly
15. Space out the tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, then sprinkle the oregano on top for decoration.
16. Put in the oven and cook for about 45 minutes on 170C. Stick a knife in the middle to make sure the pasta sheets are soft.
17. You may need to put a tray underneath the oven proof dish to avoid a messy oven!