Lasagne

With the weather cooling down rapidly, this is one of our favourite comfort foods for winter.

Ingredients

Meat filling

• 1kg minced beef
• ½ packet bacon
• 500g sliced mushrooms
• Olive oil
• Crushed garlic
• 1 can diced tomato (I use the Tomato, Garlic and Oregano mix)
• 2 to 4 T Sugar

White sauce

• 2 T Butter
• 2 to 4 T Flour
• Milk
• Grated white cheese
• 1t Mustard

Lasagne Pasta (uncooked)
2 cups (roughly) grated Cheddar cheese

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan on a hot plate. Add the crushed garlic and fry lightly. Do not let the garlic brown.
2. Add the bacon, cut into large pieces. Fry until the bacon is cooked through. Add the mushrooms, fry until the mushrooms are fried through.
3. Reduce the heat, add the mince. Fry until the mince is cooked through.
4. Reduce heat to low, add the tomato. Allow to simmer for about 15 minutes.
5. Stir through the sugar, and simmer. The sauce should now be very juicy.
6. Prepare the white sauce: Melt the butter in a saucepan on a low heat, adding the flour to make a thick paste. Gradually add the milk, stirring regularly to prevent lumps. Once the sauce has thickened a little, stir in the mustard. Simmer for about 3 minutes, and then gradually add the grated cheese. The sauce should not be too think or too runny.
7. Build the lasagne, alternating layers of meat and lasagne pasta. Do not discard any of the juice from the meat sauce. Instead, pour it over once the last layer has been placed. If possible, allow to stand for about 30 minutes.
8. Top with white sauce, and then generously with grated cheese, and bake in the preheated oven for around 30-40 minutes, until the cheese is crispy.

Be sure not to use a shallow dish, or to overfill the dish, as the sauce may bubble over.

Serve with garlic bread and a salad. This recipe comfortably feeds and fills 4-6 people.