Viva lasagne

It is a truth universally acknowledged that you can never find lasagne sheets to fit your dish. They will either be too short or too long so you end up snapping them as best you can to make them fit, often cutting yourself in the process with the shards of hard, dry pasta.

Lasagne is indeed generally a guddle to make and really only worthwhile now and again and for feeding more than four people. And sadly, it is now a much-maligned dish with people associating it with dreadful frozen or ready-meal versions or, a pub grub dish served swimming in raw-tasting tomato sauce and wobbly bechamel that looks more like wallpaper paste.

In his fantastic, if heavy, book, Gorgio Locatelli states that if you serve floppy lasagne to children in Italy, they cry because it is supposed to be a sturdy, meaty affair and not an insipid floating pasta mess. He rightly points out that if too much liquid is in the lasagne it will simply boil the pasta in the oven which is “completely contrary to the spirit”. You have to love Italy, where food has a spirit.

Despite it being a guddle to make, there are two great advantages to lasagne – it tastes delicious and is perfect to make in advance because it tastes better the following day and freezes perfectly. I usually make it to the assembled stage and either bake it after a day in the fridge or freeze it. All you need with it is a green salad and glass of wine.

One of the reasons many people are put off making lasagne is because it involves making a sauce. I don’t put loads of white sauce in mine, since I like to be able to see all the layers and don’t care for cheesy sauces anyway. But another great way to make it is not to bother with the bechamel and to just use a tub of ricotta instead, placing thin scoops on the lasagne where you would normally put the sauce. My Australian pal Mardi was a vegetarian when she stayed with me many years ago (I broke her eventually with a square sausage sandwich) and made a fantastic veggie lasagne using ricotta.

Recently I’ve been mincing my own rump steak to use for this lasagne dish but that is extravagant and mince will do perfectly well. The onions on the top are incredibly tasty and make a lasagne look far more interesting. The recipe is for a standard four-to-six portion lasagne dish.

Lasagne with roasted onion topping

500g beef mince

One onion, carrot and stick of celery all diced finely (in the processor is fine)

Three cloves of garlic, minced

Pinch of chilli flakes

Tbsp flour

Olive oil

One can of plum tomatoes

Beef, chicken or veg stock cube made up in the empty can of tomatoes ( you may not need it all)

Tsp of dried herbs (oregano or basil) or if you have fresh parsely, add it at the end to either the meat or white sauce.

 

For the white sauce (or use one large tub of ricotta)

Tbsp of butter

Tbsp flour

Pint of whole milk

40z grated cheese (cheddar or mixture of cheddar and parmesan)

Pinch nutmeg

Salt and pepper

One packet of dried lasagne sheets

Two large red onions

1 Brown the meat in a little olive olive in a large pan with a lid. Add a little more oil and add the carrot, onion, celery, garlic and chilli. Cook for about 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle over the flour and add the tomatoes and half the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for an hour, with the lid on, stirring occasionally. If the mix looks like it is reducing too much (unlikely) add a little more stock.

2 Melt the butter in a pan and add the flour. Cook gently for about a minute and then whisk in the milk, a little at a time until it is all incorporated. Bring to the boil, whisking all the time. Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper and cheese and whisk in off the heat. Pour into a jug and cover with cling film until ready to use.

3 Cover the bottom of your dish with a thin layer of the meat sauce. Place your lasagne sheets on top. Pour over some white sauce (or your ricotta) and press down lightly. Repeat for another two layers until you have a top one of white sauce. If you’re not eating straight away, allow to cool, covered with foil and then place in the fridge. Or you can freeze at this stage.

4 Preheat oven to 170C . Put the lasagne in the oven. Cut the red onions into thick half moons and separate into a large bowl. Drizzle over about a tablespoon of olive oil and, using clean hands, distribute the oil over all the onions. Do not add salt. After the lasagne has been in the oven for about 15 minutes, scatter the onions on top. After 20 minutes, check the lasagne. Turn over the onions and add some parmesan cheese if you like. Return to the oven for another 15 minutes.

5 Allow the lasagne to rest for at least five minutes before you serve it. It will retain the heat no problem. Serve with a green salad.

Advertisement