I say "easy" because it is. I say "tasty" because it is. I should say "time-consuming" because it DEFINITELY IS, but it's totally worth it.
This is the lasagne from Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food and as with all the other recipes in that book, it's a keeper. It turned out really well and was even good as leftovers the next day but man did it take some effort. Normally I find lots of chopping and prepping quite therapeutic but I slightly under-estimated the time involved and it all turned into a bit of a rush. Couple this with the fact that I couldn't seem to find the right dish and I certainly didn't manage three layers like Jamie said, so ended up saving the leftover bolognese sauce for using on a jacket spud in the future!
My other points to note would be that it does seem to use a lot of liquid - indeed I always find Jamie's recipes a bit too wet - and this uses two tins of tomatoes and one tin of water. Next time I'd probably use 1/2 can of water and just keep an eye on it as towards the end I did add a bit of cornflour to thicken it. Also a note about the lasagne sheets, with many you don't have to actually pre-soak/cook them but if you do choose to you might find that they stick together a bit. You can make it easier to peel them apart by running them under cold water for a few seconds if you find them sticking. This stops them breaking into tiny pieces!
Other than that though it was really tasty and I'll probably make this again and again. The recipe serves 4-6 and is equally good as leftovers the next day!
Easy Tasty Lasagne
Ingredients
For the bolognese;
2 rashers of streaky bacon, finely sliced
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
olive oil
2 heaped tsps dried oregano
500g beef or pork mince (or a mixture of the two)
2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
small bunch of fresh basil
50g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
To assemble lasagne;
250g dried egg lasagne sheets
500ml creme fraiche
100g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1 large ripe tomato, sliced
Method
Place a large casserole dish over a medium to high heat and add about 2 tbsps of olive oil. Add the sliced bacon and oregano to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until the bacon is lightly golden. Add all the chopped vegetables to the pan and cook for around 7 minutes stirring every 30 seconds or so until all the vegetables are softened and lightly coloured.
Add the minced meat to the pan along with the tinned tomatoes. Fill one of the empty tins with water and add to the pan. Stir in a pinch of salt and pepper.
Pick the basil leaves and pop into the fridge for later before finely chopping the basil stalks and adding them to the pan. Bring everything to the boil, turn down the heat. Cover and simmer for around 45 minutes, stirring occasionally to stop it sticking to the bottom of the casserole dish.
Preheat the oven to 190c/gas mark 5 and remove the bolognese sauce from the heat. Stir in 50g of the finely grated Parmesan cheese and also some of the larger basil leaves. (Keep smaller ones for later). Season the sauce to taste.
Boil some water and in a pan, pop your lasagne sheets in with a little olive oil and leave to soften for around 3 minutes. Drain the lasagne sheets in a colander and carefully dry them with some kitchen towel to take away any excess water.
To assemble, spoon a third of the bolognese sauce into the bottom of a large ovenproof dish and follow with a layer of lasagne sheets. Dollop over a third of the creme fraiche and smooth it out to cover the lasagne sheets. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper and some of the remaining Parmesan. Add another layer of lasagne and repeat the layers twice or more (if you can fit them in!), finishing with a layer of creme fraiche and Parmesan.
Top with the tomato slices and small basil leaves and drizzle with olive oil. Cover with foil and place in the oven for around 20 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for a further 35 minutes until bubbling and golden.
We served this with salad and garlic bread but being the heathen I am, I'd absolutely love this with a side of chips as well. I like a side of carbs with my carbs and carbs. This is why I will never be skinny.
This is the lasagne from Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food and as with all the other recipes in that book, it's a keeper. It turned out really well and was even good as leftovers the next day but man did it take some effort. Normally I find lots of chopping and prepping quite therapeutic but I slightly under-estimated the time involved and it all turned into a bit of a rush. Couple this with the fact that I couldn't seem to find the right dish and I certainly didn't manage three layers like Jamie said, so ended up saving the leftover bolognese sauce for using on a jacket spud in the future!
My other points to note would be that it does seem to use a lot of liquid - indeed I always find Jamie's recipes a bit too wet - and this uses two tins of tomatoes and one tin of water. Next time I'd probably use 1/2 can of water and just keep an eye on it as towards the end I did add a bit of cornflour to thicken it. Also a note about the lasagne sheets, with many you don't have to actually pre-soak/cook them but if you do choose to you might find that they stick together a bit. You can make it easier to peel them apart by running them under cold water for a few seconds if you find them sticking. This stops them breaking into tiny pieces!
Other than that though it was really tasty and I'll probably make this again and again. The recipe serves 4-6 and is equally good as leftovers the next day!
Easy Tasty Lasagne
Ingredients
For the bolognese;
2 rashers of streaky bacon, finely sliced
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
olive oil
2 heaped tsps dried oregano
500g beef or pork mince (or a mixture of the two)
2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
small bunch of fresh basil
50g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
To assemble lasagne;
250g dried egg lasagne sheets
500ml creme fraiche
100g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1 large ripe tomato, sliced
Method
Place a large casserole dish over a medium to high heat and add about 2 tbsps of olive oil. Add the sliced bacon and oregano to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until the bacon is lightly golden. Add all the chopped vegetables to the pan and cook for around 7 minutes stirring every 30 seconds or so until all the vegetables are softened and lightly coloured.
Add the minced meat to the pan along with the tinned tomatoes. Fill one of the empty tins with water and add to the pan. Stir in a pinch of salt and pepper.
Pick the basil leaves and pop into the fridge for later before finely chopping the basil stalks and adding them to the pan. Bring everything to the boil, turn down the heat. Cover and simmer for around 45 minutes, stirring occasionally to stop it sticking to the bottom of the casserole dish.
Preheat the oven to 190c/gas mark 5 and remove the bolognese sauce from the heat. Stir in 50g of the finely grated Parmesan cheese and also some of the larger basil leaves. (Keep smaller ones for later). Season the sauce to taste.
Boil some water and in a pan, pop your lasagne sheets in with a little olive oil and leave to soften for around 3 minutes. Drain the lasagne sheets in a colander and carefully dry them with some kitchen towel to take away any excess water.
To assemble, spoon a third of the bolognese sauce into the bottom of a large ovenproof dish and follow with a layer of lasagne sheets. Dollop over a third of the creme fraiche and smooth it out to cover the lasagne sheets. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper and some of the remaining Parmesan. Add another layer of lasagne and repeat the layers twice or more (if you can fit them in!), finishing with a layer of creme fraiche and Parmesan.
Top with the tomato slices and small basil leaves and drizzle with olive oil. Cover with foil and place in the oven for around 20 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for a further 35 minutes until bubbling and golden.
We served this with salad and garlic bread but being the heathen I am, I'd absolutely love this with a side of chips as well. I like a side of carbs with my carbs and carbs. This is why I will never be skinny.
Aside from the tomato on top--I will never be down with that--this lasagne looks awesome! I love the creme fraiche shortcut. I'm somewhat tempted to knock this up before heading back to low-carb next week...
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