This lasagna serves 8 adults {with some garlic bread and a little green salad}. It’s also great to make in two aluminum foil dishes – so that you can bake one straight away and then wrap one up to be placed in the freezer and used when you’re having a tough day! Remember you want to freeze an assembled but pre-cooked lasagna for the best results.
PERFECT MEAT SAUCE
1 tsp olive oil
2 brown onions
2 cloves garlic
800 grams of beef mince*
800ml of pasata** {or 2 x 400g tins crushed tomatoes}
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over a medium heat. Add onion, garlic and carrot and stir until soft but not brown. Add mince to the pan and brown. Using a wooden spoon, make sure you get rid of any lumps in the mince.
Add the pasata {or extra tinned tomatoes}, tinned tomatoes, water, sugar, italian mixed herbs and salt to the mix. Simmer with the lid on for approximately 2 hours. You will need to check the sauce every 20 minutes or so to make sure that it doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan {and you may need to add a little extra water if it becomes too thick.
50 g butter
50g flour
3 ½ cups (875 ml) milk
200g tasty cheese, grated
Salt and pepper
In a large pot, melt butter and add flour over medium heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until it gathers into a dough. Continue to stir for another minute or so. This begins to cook the flour.
Add a little milk – about ¼ cup. This will incorporate fairly quickly into the dough and will once again come away from the sides of the pan. Once this happens you can add another ¼ cup milk and repeat until all the milk has been added.
Stir in the cheese and freshly grated nutmeg until it melts. Taste, and season with salt and pepper if required.
CREATING THE PERFECT LASAGNA
Start by spreading a layer of your meat sauce on the bottom of your dish {you’ll want it to be more tomato then meat and I find skimming the more watery layer from the top of the sauce works well for the bottom of the dish}.
Finish off your lasagna with a layer of béchamel sauce and then top with Kraft’s perfect melt 3 cheese blend {we like ours to be super cheesy on top and so will normally use the entire packet}.
A lasagna is always oven-baked, so be sure to remember to pre-heat your oven to around 180 degrees. It’s best to cover your lasagna with aluminium foil for the first thirty minutes and then remove the foil and bake for a further 10-20 minutes, until the top is golden and crispy and the whole dish is piping hot through.
