If you follow me on twitter you will see that today I’m wanted to have a VERY BIG RANT about a few things that seriously annoyed me.
I didn’t.
Instead I jumped on my mac to blog about one of my favourite comfort foods – lasagne. Just saying the word makes me feel like I’ve been enveloped in a great big hug with a snuggly woolly blanket and the arms of a loved one.
Fortunately I’ve made lasagne twice in the last 5 days so I have had plenty of practice! I’ve also taken plenty of photos – in fact I’ve taken 70 photos just of the 2nd lasagne! And to those of you who have asked, YES, I’m POSITIVE I have taken more than 70 photos of my hubby in the last year. Just not in the last 5 days. 🙂
I love both meat and vegetarian lasagnes and have made a lot of both this year (it’s been a difficult year). This recipe has meat, but you could easily substitute the meat for extra veggies or for lentils.
What you need:
Olive oil
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| cubed mozarella |
- In a large frypan heat 2-3 tsp olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and saute for 3-4 minutes.
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| Sauteeing garlic and onion – hear the sizzle! |
- Add the mince and cook until browned (about 4-5 minutes).
- Add the tomato passata, tin of tomatoes, wine, sugar, salt, pepper to taste, Italian seasoning, Tabasco, stir to combine and bring to a simmmer. Simmer for about 30 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 180c
- While meat and tomato mix is simmering, mix the ricotta and the spinach in a medium sized bowl
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| mmm spinach. Popeye would be proud! |
- Put about 2 tsp olive oil on the lasagne dish, mix with your fingers so the bottom of the dish is lightly coated (this prevents the lasagne sheets from sticking).
- Put the first layer of lasagne noodles in the dish
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| I used a packet of Barilla lasagne sheets this time, but usually I use fresh |
- Spread half the meat mix over the lasagne noodles, add half the mozarella
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| If you want to make it a bit healthier you could always leave out the mozzarella, but I love cheese! |
- Add another layer of lasagne noodles and gently press down
- Spread the ricotta/spinach mix, put the mushrooms on top
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| This is the first time I’ve added the spinach to the ricotta and it added an extra dimension of flavour that really enhanced the dish |
- Add another layer of lasagne noodles and gently press down
- Add the remainder of the meat, then the remainder of the mozzarella. Finally evenly sprinkle the parmesan cheese on the top.
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| My favourite bit is when all the mozzarella melts when it’s cooked. I could just eat the top! |
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| It looks so pretty with the layers! But not so pretty that it won’t be eaten! |
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| So OK, there’s no salad or garlic bread in this pic, but there IS wine. |
How do you like your lasagne? The traditional way or with a bit of variation?
Looks delicious. But only 9 photos- what restraint you have!
I love traditional lasagne, but for all variations it must have a decent amount of rich passata. Nothing worse than a dry lasagne 🙂
Looks fabulous!! I love the idea of spinach/ricotta layer – will have to try that!
Oh I’ve never added spinach and ricotta, but usually do eggplant and zucchini etc. THis looks really good Mel.
I’ve never thought of adding spinach and ricotta, will definitely give that a go next time. I usually add zucchini too.
Lasagne is also one of my favourite foods!
Love it Mel – especially the instructional photos!
Anita B