Lasagne From Scratch / FOOD

There's something so satisfying about making a meal completely from scratch. I'm talking making the bolognaise sauce and the white sauce etc (not rearing and killing my own beef, I'm not that keen).

I LOVE lasagne, like really love, so if I'm going to spend time cooking instead of sleeping it's going to be lasagne I make.

This is lasagne as I like it, which means it is packed with vegetables rather than just being meat and tomato sauce. I really struggle to get my five a day so smuggling vege into a lasagne is perfect for me.

Basics

Pre-heat the oven to 160C

Prep time: 1 hour

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

Meat Sauce

250g mince

1 onion chopped

sprinkling of garlic granules (or one clove of garlic)

1/2 carrot chopped

1/2 red pepper chopped

4 small mushrooms chopped

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

1 squeeze of tomato puree

1 glass of red wine

Sprinkling of Rosemary, Sage, Thyme or other herbs

Black pepper

White Sauce

85g of butter

85g of plain flour

1 1/4 ml of milk

Grated cheese for the top

Lasagne sheets

Cooking Instructions

I always make the meat sauce first because then it can simmer away while I give all my attention to the white sauce.

1. Heat up oil in a frying pan and then bung in the mince, onion and garlic. Let that cook away until the mince is browned.

2. Add in the tomatoes, carrot, pepper, mushroom, wine and all the herbs and black pepper and let the whole thing simmer away for 30 minutes

3. White sauce time. In a pan melt the butter and then add in the flour. STIR THE WHOLE TIME, this stuff burns quick!

4. Whisk in the milk slowly and once you've added it all bring the mix to the boil

5. Once it comes to the boil turn it right down and stir it for a couple of minutes until it thickens then take it off the heat

6. Time to put it all together. Start with the meat sauce layer in the bottom of your dish, then a layer of lasagne sheets, then white sauce. Continue this pattern until dish is full, finish with a white sauce layer

7. Add on the grated cheese and shove it in the oven for around 45 minutes until the cheese is nice and golden and the pasta is cooked through.

8. ENJOY

Kate // SK