Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Easy Lasagna

After not having so much success with the macarons, I decided to make lasagna for dinner. This also my first experiment, but with this I was pretty sure it won't screw up so much like those macarons. And though it might not look pretty here, it is definitely soothing to the palate and soon enough, all my frustration about those feetless macarons of mine went away.


Meat Lasagna

250g instant lasagna (it has to be instant so u don't have to pre-cook it before layering)

Meat sauce:
2 tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 can button mushroom, sliced
500g mince meat
5 tbsp tomato puree
2 fresh tomatoes, diced
2 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
a pinch of basil

1. Heat oil in a saucepan, add onion, mushroom and garlic, cook until soft.
2. Add mince meat, cook until brown. Then stir in tomato puree, diced tomatoes and chicken stock.
3. Season with salt, pepper and basil and let cook for 20 minutes.

Cheese Sauce:

2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp plain flour
2 cups milk
125 g mozzarella or cheddar cheese

1. Melt butter in a saucepan, stir in flour and cook for 2 minutes over low heat.
2. Remove from heat and stir in milk.
3. Return the pan back to heat, stir until thick and smooth, then add in the cheddar.
4. Season with pepper and salt as needed and stir until cheese melts.

Assembly:
1. Preheat oven to 180C and pour 1/4 of the meat sauce into a lightly greased baking dish.
2. Alternate layers of lasagna, meat and cheese sauces, ending with cheese sauce layer (make 4 layers).
3. Sprinkle with grated parmesan if desired and bake for 30 minutes with the dish covered in foil.
4. Remove foil and continue baking for a further 15 minutes until the pasta is cooked through.


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