Comfort Food

No.1 son looooves lasagne. When he was younger it was his favourite.
Fortunately, his taste has evolved and now he has more than one favourite and hints I want this recipe when I leave home.Recipes will follow in subsequent posts.You know you love it when your child has dinner out or at a friend’s and they come home and say your’s (lasagne) was better. Yeah! a little pride (with a little dance) creeps in at that moment. I have made many a lasagne over the years and it took me a while to perfect it. Some were dry not enough sauce, the pasta was hard, some were sloppy too much sauce. But I had my ahha moment while we were living in Castlemaine, Victoria. We were invited to a Murder Mystery dinner and one of the guests brought a lasagne. Hers was perfect moist but not sloppy, firm but not hard and sliced beautifully. She said it was all in the be’chamel sauce. Make sure you have enough to cover the top. With that advice under my belt I went home and made my best lasagne everrrrr and have never had a failure since. Thank you Louisa.
Well here we go, lasagne the way mum makes it. Enjoy.

Lasagne Recipe

500g beef lean mince

1 brown onion diced

3 garlic cloves crushed

Olive oil

Italian spices to taste

Salt & pepper

1 bottle passata or your favourite 

tomato based pasta sauce

Parmesan cheese

Lasagne noodles large

Bechamel Sauce

Knob of butter 30-50gm

2-3 tbspn plain flour

Approx 2 cups milk

1 hand full of cheddar cheese

Nutmeg kernel grated to taste or a pinch of powdered

Method
Gather ingredients.
Saute onion until transparent in a little olive oil. Turn up the heat and add the meat and brown all over. At this stage if you have used a cheaper grade of mince you may need to drain off the excess fat. Now add the garlic, herbs and passata. Turn down the heat and simmer for a least half an hour or longer for a richer sauce. When cooked cool slightly.

While the meat is simmering prepare the bechamel sauce.
Melt the butter in a microwaveable bowl for 20seconds. Add flour and whisk to mix with a hand whisk, then cook on high for 1 min. Then add 1 cup of milk whisk the milk into the flour and put back into the microwave for 1min on high. Whisk again, as it is now thickening, add the extra milk put back in the microwave for another minute whisk again. You may need to do this for another minute. Whisk each time you want it thick but fluid – not glue. If it does get too thick add more milk to thin it down. Now add the cheese and nutmeg. I use the kernel I find the nutmeg stays fresher for longer, but ground is good if that is easier.

Now, the good part, layering it together.


I use a 4 litre casserole dish with lid. On the bottom of the casserole put a thin layer of meat sauce. This stops the lasagne noodles from sticking to the bottom. Lay noodles over the sauce you may need to break them to fit. From here you are using about a third of the mixture per layer. On top of the meat sprinkle some parmesan or mozzarella if you prefer. The last layer is noodle and on top of this you spread your béchamel sauce, sprinkle with parmesan, pop the lid on and put it in a hot oven for 10min then reduce heat to 180oC for another 30min. If you want the top to brown take the lid off for the last 5-10min. And you’re done.
Serve with a salad and garlic bread.