Lasagne!

It is ALWAYS a good idea to make lasagne for the following reasons:

1. The ingredients are oh-so-cheap and are generally in your cupboard / fridge anyway.

2. Its "Happy Food" - fills you up and makes you all warm and cuddly.

3. There are always leftovers so you save on lunch the next day.

4. It tastes awesome.

5. Making lasagne is SO EASY.


Everyone I know makes lasagne slightly different so I am just going to give you the really basic version and then a few different ideas at the bottom.
Traditional Italian lasagne has barely any meat in it at all and is mostly layers of tomato sauce, pasta, Béchamel sauce and cheese. It is totally different from the lasagne we have in Australia and is AH-MAZING.
When I was in Florence I was told that the dish was first invented there and that I should sample the original version - which was different again. It included a layer of sliced boiled eggs and was really lemony (I'll just admit here that anything with lemon in it generally passes my Test of Awesome).


So, as I said, heaps of different versions available so get crafty and make up your own version - it makes a great signature dish!


Ok Fiance and I got a little distracted by "How I Met Your Mother" last night while our lasagne was in the oven so its a little crisp* on the edges and not the best looking one we've made... lets just look past that shall we? =D
Oh and look! Theres that pumpkin again..



Basic Lasagne


Prep time: under 10 mins
Cooking time: under an hour (mostly simmering and oven time)
Serves: Up to 8
Cost: Under $20


Ingredients

250g pasta sheets
Cheese, grated

(Tomato Sauce)

1kg veal mince
400g can of crushed tomatoes
690g bottle Italian tomato sauce**
Fresh Basil leaves
Rosemary
1 onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, smashed then diced
1 tbsp butter
Salt
Pepper


(Cheese Sauce)

75g butter
1/2 cup plain flour
600ml thickened cream
Extra milk
1 - 2 cups grated cheese
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg



Method

Preheat oven to 200 degrees (fan forced).

Tomato Sauce
Melt butter in large pot and add garlic and onion. Saute on medium heat until onion becomes transparent, then add Italian pasta sauce and tomatoes and bring to the boil. Break up mince and add bit by bit until all in and stir - making sure there are no big chunks of meat. Add herbs and turn down the heat to a low simmer for 30 mins and cover. Stir occasionally.

Cheese Sauce
HINT If you need to move away from the pot at any time - take it off the heat!
Melt butter in a medium sized pot on low heat. Add flour bit by bit making sure to stir constantly. When butter and flour have made a paste you have added enough flour. Add half a cup of cream at a time and stir in each addition before adding the next one, leaving half a cup of cream out. Add cheese and stir, adding 2 pinches nutmeg when cheese has dissolved. Salt and pepper to taste.
(If sauce seems a bit thick, add half a cup of milk, more if needed. If too thin, mix 1 tbsp cornflour with a little cold water until slightly runny and stir into sauce). Take off heat and stir occasionally until ready to use.

Stir tomato sauce and season to taste.

Line a large deep baking dish with one layer of dry pasta sheets. Pour over a layer of your tomato sauce, about 1-2cm thick, then layer pasta over again. Next layer is cheese sauce, about 1cm thick, then pasta again. Repeat until last layer is cheese sauce, then drizzle remaining cream over the top and sprinkle with extra grated cheese.

Place in oven for 20 minutes, or until pasta has softened and cheese is golden.

Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Enjoy with a great glass of red =)


Variations

The crushed tomato tastes awesome if you buy fresh tomatoes, pierce then boil them until the skin starts peeling and then drain and mash them. About 8 medium sized tomatoes will do.
If you like more cheese/mince/tomato/herbs in your mixture - add it. Minus it if you'd prefer less.
Lots of people add zucchini, eggplant, grated carrot etc into the layers so feel free to do that. This can also replace the meat if you'd rather a vegetarian version.
Pop the sliced boiled eggs in - they taste good!
My mum always serves with a side salad for a bit of freshness and colour.



* Ok burnt.
** I am never one to check ingredients on food unless it is fruit, herbs or vegetables (better to buy them fresh and make the sauce yourself because so many times there are odd ingredients - like Lemon flavouring in Lemon Juice - What the?!)
Make sure you do check that the sauce only contains tomato puree and maybe a little salt and basil. NO FLAVOURINGS! It wont really make a LOT of difference in a lasagne with heaps of ingredients, but its just ridiculous adding them. Try using the ones actually imported from Italy - they taste much better and generally only use tomato and salt.