MUM’S HOMEMADE LASAGNA

It doesn’t get much better than mum’s homemade lasagna, does it? One of my favourite childhood memories is every birthday when mum would cook this for me. I may have added a few veggies to sneak in some extra nutrients though! I know it doesn’t look perfect – I like to call it rustic. It’s actually so tricky to make it look photogenic!

If the thought of making an entire lasagna from scratch sounds daunting, don’t worry! If you can make spag bol you can make lasagna. It’s basically the same thing. I have classified this recipe as easy but it’s definitely time-consuming… the longer you can simmer the beef sauce for the better, I usually try for an hour. It’s definitely a labour of love but it’s so worth it. The same rule applies for most sauces – and curries too – the longer it cooks down the more flavour it will have.

So what goes in it?

There are three main components of my mum’s homemade lasagna: the pasta, beef filling, and the cheese sauce. For me this recipe is already time-consuming enough, I can’t be bothered to make the pasta from scratch so I use instant lasagna sheets. Some might call this cheating, I call it resourceful! Next is the beef filling. You can really add whatever you want to this as long as you have the main elements: beef, onion, garlic, red wine, tinned tomatoes, and chicken stock. As I mentioned earlier, I add some extra veggies to bulk it up a bit and make it healthier. Any chance I get to add some sneaky veggies I go for it! Last we have the cheese sauce, I like to make this while the beef is cooking to save time. It’s super creamy and cheesy but with no cream! Just a basic bechamel sauce, but with lots and lots of cheese. I like using both cheddar and parmesan because the parmesan adds some lovely saltiness.

MUM’S HOMEMADE LASAGNA

Course: DinnerDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

15

minutes

Total time

1

hour 

30

minutes

It may look rustic but it tastes amazing!

Ingredients

• Mince filling

• 500g beef mince

• 1 yellow onion finely diced

• 1 large carrot grated

• 1 large zucchini grated

• 2 cups chopped mushrooms

• 2 tsp minced garlic

• splash of red wine

• 2 tbsp tomato paste

• 2 tins diced tomatoes

• 1 cup chicken broth

• 1 tbsp dried oregano

• 1 tbsp dried basil

• 2 tsp sugar

• 2 bay leaves

• Cheese sauce

• 2 tbsp butter

• 2 tbsp plain flour

• milk

• parmesan cheese grated

• cheddar cheese grated

• Finishing touches

• lasagna sheets

• extra grated cheese for the top

Directions

• Cook the mince in a pot on medium heat.
• Once the mince is fully browned, fry off the garlic for a minute and add all the veggies.
• Let the veggies cook down for a few minutes then add a splash of red wine to deglaze.
• Once the wine is cooked off, add the tomato paste, tinned tomatoes, chicken broth, herbs, sugar, and bay leaves.
• Let this simmer on the stove for at least half an hour.
• When the beef filling is almost done get started on the cheese sauce. In a small pot melt the butter.
• When the butter is liquid stir through the flour and cook off until it starts to turn slightly brown and the flour flavour is completely gone.
• Slowly add the milk bit by bit, constantly stirring so there’s no lumps.
• Keep adding milk until the sauce is not too thick but not too runny.
• Turn off the heat and stir through the cheeses, add as much as you like until it tastes super cheesy.
• Time to assemble! (Don’t forget to remove the bay leaves first!) Put a thin layer of mince down first, then the pasta sheets and top with the cheese sauce. For extra cheesiness, I add a layer of grated cheddar.
• Repeat until everything is gone. Top with a final layer of grated cheddar.
• Pop in the oven for 45 minutes at 180 degrees, check it after half an hour.