Monday, September 27, 2010

Cooking: Lasagna

Easy to say, hard to spell. Made this on Friday night. And yes I cheated and used dried lasagna sheets instead of making my own but I was pushed for time and in year 12, you seriously cannot be bothered. Wanted to make this after watching Hestons In Search for Perfection-Ragu Tagliatelle.
Best picture I took.
Presentation was the last thing on my mind. Should have made a super tall lasagna instead.

Ingredients: 
Bolognese:1 carrot, 2 sticks celery, 1 onion, 2 cloves garlic, 300g pork mince, 300g beef mince, 600ml tomato passata or 2 cans of tinned tomatoes. (for about 3-4 people)
Bechamel: My one failed. Some butter, 2 tablespoons ish flour, 300ml milk. (I think double this for enough sauce)
Dried lasagna sheets
CHEEESSSEEEE

Method:
Saute carrots, celery, onion and garlic until soft. Add in minces and keep breaking it up and browning until it's all separated. Add the tomato passata/tinnned tomatoes. Salt and pepper. Simmer for 45 mins ish. Stir occasionally as the bottom can get stuck and burn. At 35 mins start making the bechamel sauce. Melt the butter in a separate saucepan. Add in flour and stir continuously for a few minutes. Then slowly add a little milk and whisk crazily (without splashing it everywhere) until flour and milk is combined, then add more milk and repeat until all the milk is in the saucepan. Simmer on a low heat until thickened like making custard. 
Then just spread meat sauce then bechamel sauce then pasta sheets and keep repeating. Spread the final layer with just bechamel and then sprinkle with a tonne of cheese. Bake for 45 mins or according to lasagna sheet packet. 

Hopefully yours will look better than mine. Vary the meat sauce by adding whatever you find in the fridge. 

2 comments:

  1. hehe......I always have to look onto the menu when I'm writing an order down for lasagna at school =) I can never quite get it right....

    I've been meaning to make lasagna for a while- I'm just a little scared about the pasta bit because I want to make the pasta, only I'm scared it won't work....I think yours still looks really yummy!

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  2. pasta is pretty foolproof. just keep feeling it, and vary recipe accordingly. It's like playdough :)

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