Lasagna (8 Servings)

Video Recipe- Tiktok

Like a lot of my recipes this one is inspired by my paternal aunt and mum's side. There are versions, many of which are authentic ( and mine isn't), that use a variety of cheese as they are, melted.  Having tried it this way, I conclude that I much prefer it with a cheese sauce as I find it to be richer and smoother. 

If your here, I am sure it is most likely because of tik tok, and if you follow me you may know that I went to Beechyhead earlier this year. Their lasagna was soooo good, that me and my sisters polished it off within 5 minutes. That version is almost identical to this, at least in terms of flavor and texture. 

On a final note, although it takes a couple of hours to make ( or maybe I am just slow), you do get like 8 servings, which means it is likely you will have left overs the next day! 

Ingredients 

Meat Sauce:

Beef Mince ( 12% is best for this as I find anything less not tender, especially after 30 minutes of shimmering) 

The meat of six British style sausages ( peel the skin of sausages, much like you would an onion) 

1 Medium Onion, chopped small 

4 Medium Carrots, chopped small 

3 Stalks of Celery, chopped small 

4 Cloves of garlic, skinned, and chopped fine or grated or bashed to a paste in a pestle and motor 

Sun-dried Tomato Paste ( Try and get hold of this as it does make a difference, otherwise regular tomato paste is fine)  

80ml Worcestershire Sauce 

80ml Tomato Ketchup ( Sweetness and Colour) 

1 tsp to 1 TBSP of chill flakes ( how hot can you handle it?) 

2 Star Anise 

2 Bayleaves 

1 tsp Oregano

2 sprigs Rosemary 

2 sprigs of Thyme  

3 green chilies, chopped fine (optional) 

Beef Stock Cube 

250ml Water 

60ml Wine 

4 Vine Ripe Tomatoes blended or 1 can of  Chopped or Plum Tomatoes 

Salt and Pepper to taste 

100g Peas

Cheese Sauce 

300g Cheddar Cheese, Grated 

200g Mozzarella Cheese, Grated 

100g Blue Cheese ( optional, can be substituted for 2 tsp mustard) 

1 Liter of Milk 

80g Plain Flour 

80g  Butter 

Grated nutmeg to taste ( I would say at least 1/2 teaspoons worth) 

Layering 

400g Fresh or dried Lasagna Sheets ( if using dry, I always like soaking each sheet, individually in hot water for 30 seconds, and then using tongues to remove, so as to not burn my fingers) 

300g Mozzarella Cheese 

Parmesan to taste 

Method 

1. In a bowl add mince beef and massage with 2 tablespoons of light olive/neutral oil 
2. In a large smoking hot frying pan, on medium heat, add your mince, ensuring that as much of the meat is touching the bottom of the pan. Do not touch for two minutes to ensure mince browns
3. Season with 1 tsp of salt and pepper and stir fry for a minute and place the mince in a plate or bowl to set aside 
4. With the pan now empty add the sausage meet and stir fry for 2 minutes, add to beef also setting aside 
5. Turn the temperature down to low and add in onions with 1/2 tsp salt. Allow to brown for 5 minutes stirring every minute or so 
6. Switch heat back to medium, add Carrots and Celery and Stir Fry everything for about 4 minutes 
7. Turn temperature to low and add tomato paste, green chilies if using, garlic and and crumbled beef stock to the pan and stir fry for a minute 
8. Add wine, and turn temperature up to medium allow half to evaporate 
9. Add blended tomatoes, or tinned tomatoes, water, ketchup, Worcestershire Sauce, chill flakes, Star Anise and Bay leaves  
10. Turn heat to high, so everything comes up to a boil, then turn down, cover and allow to shimmer for 30 minutes, stirring halfway. Add peas in for the last 5 minutes of cooking.  

Cheese Sauce  

1. In a large sauce pan, on a medium low heat melt butter and add flour and keep stirring until the flour disappears 
2. Continue to stir for a minute longer, to help ensure the cheese sauce does not taste like flour 
3. Add a little milk stir until some of the milk has evaporated, add a little more milk stir... keep repeating this until there is no milk left. 
4. Turn heat up to high and as just before the milk starts to bubble turn off heat and add cheese. 
5. Sprinkle in nutmeg 
6. Set Aside 

Layering 

1. Preheat Oven at 200c ( should take 10 minutes) 
2. Grease your rectangular lasagna dish with a little oil ( I used a pastry brush)
3. Add a layer of mince, followed by a layer of lasagna sheets ( see brackets next to lasagna sheet in ingredients if using dried), then a layer of cheese , repeat until you reach the top of dish or run out of ingredients. The top layer at the stage, you should end up with, is a cheese sauce layer. 
4. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes 
5. After 30 minutes, add mozzarella topping, along with Parmesan
6. Place in  Oven for another 15 minutes 
7. Remove from oven and leave to rest for 15 minutes before digging in 
8. I like to serve it with chips, garlic bread and salad (but of course you do you :)