Lasange

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This hearty dish is perfect for cooler months and I love the flexibility of it. I can pretty much raid my fridge of what veggies I have and chuck them all in. 

This dish can be made veggie by omitting the mince for mushrooms. You'll get an earthy mouthful of goodness with every bite! Simply mince the mushrooms along with the other veggies! 

I used a food processor for all the veg in this recipe, but you can dice instead if you don't own one. Or don't if you prefer a bit more of a bite! 

Im absolutely about to butcher these names but I added some borletti and cannoli beans as I had them in my cupboard for some extra goodness! This is exactly what I mean about being flexible. Honestly, chuck what you have in there! 

Ensure to use low/ no salt ingredients like the stock and gravy if serving to littles! I chopped this all up and mashed the beans to make it manageable for my 9m old when serving.


Ingredients 


The main event -

250g mince (5% fat)
6 cloves of garlic
1 Courgette 
2 large carrots 
1 onion 
3 sticks of celery 
150g dried lentils
Tin of chopped tomatoes 
400ml veg stock 
2 tsp thyme
Grinding of black pepper 
1 Tbsp Tomato puree 
1 Tsp veg gravy granules 


White sauce -

1 tbsp Butter 
1 tbsp plain Flour 
Around 200-300ml Whole Milk
Half tsp English Mustard
Grinding of Black pepper 

Also, lasange sheets and cheese! 


How to do

Tha main event - 

Heat a pan on a medium heat with some oil, brown off the mince/ mushrooms. 

Dice/ blitz the veg and garlic. Pour into the pan and continue to stir regularly. 

Then simply add the rest of the ingredients, keep on a low-medium heat. We essentially want a rolling simmer. Allow to cook for around 30-40 minutes stirring every 5/10 mins. Until the lentils are slightly softened. Never fear if they're not completely cooked! They'll finish up in the oven later! 


The white sauce - 

On a low- medium heat, melt the butter ensuring it doesn't catch. Add the plain flour and whisk until it resembles a thick cream. 

Gradually add milk a little bit at a time whisking regularly until it begins to thicken. Ensure to run the whisk around the edge of the saucepan to stop anything catching. 

Once the sauce has thickened, add more milk and continue this process. Add the mustard and a good grinding of black pepper! 

Whisk until its thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, and take it off the heat and reserve for assembly. 


The actual lasagne -

Preheat your oven to 180⁰c, assemble the lasagne. I do mince, white sauce, pasta. And repeat until my dish is full. The last layer of pasta, I then do the mince, whatevers left of my white sauce and an ungodly amount of cheese. Trust me, it's worth it! 

Pop in the oven for 40 minutes. Then serve! 

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