The Ultimate Family Lasagna

The Ultimate Family Lasagna

Make for a crowd or separate into two dishes and have a ready-made meal ready to bang in the oven for a no-cook night! Stop with the ready-made lasagna and pasta sauces, make it from scratch just as easy and a lot more tasty!

Prep 30 minutes Cook 40 minutes

Serves 10

Ingredients

FILLING

2 tbsp oil

1kg beef mince

2 onions, finely diced

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1 courgette, grated

2 410gm tins of chopped tomatoes

2 tbsp cornflour

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp tomato relish or sauce

1 tbsp brown sugar

CHEESE SAUCE

100gms butter

1/2 cup flour

2 cups of milk

1 cup cream

1 cup grated cheese

1 cup grated mozzarella

fresh or dried lasagna sheets(around 200gms)

extra cheese to top

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Add oil to large pan and brown mince in batches (don’t overcrowd the pan). Remove and set aside in a leave bowl.

To the pan, another drizzle of oil followed by, onions, garlic, carrots and courgettes. Cook until softened.

Add to vegetables, tomatoes, flour, balsamic vinegar, relish or sauce and sugar. Mix well and allow to simmer until thickened (15 - 20 minutes). Once thickened add mince into the sauce and combine well. (you can make this mix ahead of time)

While sauce is cooking make the cheese sauce.

In a medium-sized saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter. Add flour and stir with a whisk until flour and butter become thick and gluggy. While still stirring slowly add the milk, 1/4 of a cup at a time. Continue to whisk to bring out any lumps and form a smooth sauce. Add remaining milk and cream and leave to simmer. When the sauce begins to thicken slightly, remove from heat and stir in cheeses until melted and season well with salt and pepper.

To assemble lasagna use either a large baking dish or two smaller dishes if you are freezing half.

Layer 1/3 of the mince, 1/3 of the cheese sauce followed by lasagna sheets. Repeat and finish with a layer of cheese sauce topped with the second measure of cheese.

Cover with tinfoil with a few holes in the top to allow to breath. Bake for 30 minutes and remove foil and grate a layer of parmesan. Bake for remaining 10 minutes until the top is golden brown.