Lasagna

Our family have not had lasagna for the longest time, so much so that DD1 forgot what lasagna is all about. Still remember I used to bake this very often (at least 3 times in a month) as this is DH's favourite dish and the kids love the creamy cheese layers.

My kind of baked pasta/rice/lasagna is not what you can find commercially. For me, I'll always throw in lots of veggies (this is the time to get them to eat more veggies). The usual stuffs are onions, carrots, tomatoes, zucchinis & peas. Sometimes, I add french beans too. This is a very versatile dish, you can literally add any ingredients that you want. But of course, not many people can accept having peas/zucchinis in their lasagna. Also, for health reason, I always cook this using minced pork instead of minced beef.

Recipe taken from San Remo

Meat Sauce
Ingredients
1 onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
500g minced beef
5 tbsp tomato paste
800g canned tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock
Salt, pepper and nutmeg for seasoning

Method

1. Heat oil in saucepan.
2. Add onion, carrot and garlic. Cooked till soft.
3. Add beef and cook till brown.
4. Stir in tomato paste and tomatoes and chicken stock.
5. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
6. Cover and simmer for 20 mins.

White sauce
Ingredients
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
125g mozzarella cheese (I usually use a combo of mozzie and cheddar)

Method

1. Melt butter and stir in flour. Cook for 2 mins over gentle heat.
2. Remove from heat and stir in milk. Return to heat and cook till thick and smooth. Stir constantly.
3. Season with salt, pepper.
4. Add mozzarella cheese and stir over low heat till cheese melts.

Assemble

1. Preheat oven to 180 °C.
2. Pour ½ cup of meat sauce into a lightly greased baking dish.
3. Alternate layers of lasagna (instant lasagna), meat and cheese sauces, ending with cheese sauce.
4. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, bake for 35 – 40 mins.
5. Let stand 5 min before serving

Own Notes:
* Tecno TEO 3400: Bake at 170C for 45 - 50 mins