Easy Lasagna | Video

Easy lasagna – Classic and comforting dinner featuring layers of deliciousness. A simple addition of your favorite chopped veggies will boost the nutritional factor. Add a side of fresh salad, and then dig into this very traditional meal. Totally impossible to resist!

Apart from pizza and pasta, I think lasagna is the third most popular Italian dish across the globe. Who could resist layers of bechamel sauce, meat sauce, lasagna sheets, and a generous sprinkle of mozzarella baked to golden perfection? But what I love most is that it’s too easy to feed a crowd with no extra time in the kitchen.

The three layers comprising meat sauce, bechamel or white sauce and lasagna sheets are the core elements of this recipe. Obviously, this is not the quick and easy meal you’ll want to make on busy weekdays.

To make the meat sauce, use your favorite minced meat in this easy lasagna recipe. This meat sauce is one of the key elements, so make sure you get a thick perfectly cooked sauce. We’ll cook the meat in a flavorful tomato-based sauce spiked with the classic Italian seasoning. The best part is you can make this sauce ahead and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Next up, the bechamel or white sauce. Just a super simple sauce made with butter, flour and milk. We’ll cook the flour in the melted butter and then stir in milk to create silky smooth, white sauce. A pinch of nutmeg and a bay leaf are the only spices flavoring this sauce. Don’t forget to add some grated parmesan to bring in the extra cheesy goodness.

Third, instant lasagna sheets for this easy lasagna recipe. You know, we are planning to make this recipe as simple as possible. So, I think instant sheets are the best choice. No precooking required.

Now all you need to do is assemble the layers in a greased ovenproof baking dish. Sprinkle with plenty of mozzarella or cheddar cheese. Bake until golden perfection.

I think I’ve your weekend dinner plans sorted out. Well, I also have a Indian-Italian fusion recipe on my mind. So it’s going to be lots and lots of cooking over the next couple of days. What are your plans for the weekend?

Yield: 8

Easy Lasagna | Video

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The combination of flavorful meat sauce, bechamel sauce and thin lasagne sheets is utterly irresistible. Enjoy with a side of favorite salad or steamed vegetables

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes

Ingredients

Meat sauce:

• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 500 g minced meat (choose your favorite)
• 1/4 cup tomato purée (or tomato paste)
• 800 g can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup dry red wine (optional)
• 1 tsp white sugar
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• Salt and pepper, to season

Bechamel sauce / White sauce:

• 60 g butter
• 1/3 cup all-purpose (plain) flour
• 3 1/2 cups milk
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup grated parmesan
• Salt and pepper, to season

Other ingredients:

• 180 g instant lasagna sheets
• 1/2 cup grated mozzarella or cheddar
• Salad or steamed vegetables, to serve

Instructions

Meat sauce:

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until soft.
2. Add minced meat and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up the lumps, for 5 minutes or until the mince changes color.
3. Add tomato purée (paste), diced tomatoes, red wine (if using), sugar and Italian seasoning. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat. Set aside.

Bechamel (white) sauce:

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in milk to make a smooth mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes or until sauce begins to thicken. Add bay leaf and nutmeg. Stir in parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Set aside.

Assemble lasagna:

1. Preheat oven to 180C / 350F.
2. Grease a 3L capacity ovenproof baking dish.
3. Spoon about 1/4th of bechamel sauce over base of greased dish. Cover with a layer of lasagna sheets, trimming to fit if necessary. Top with 1/2 of meat sauce, then drizzle over 1/3rd of bechamel sauce. Top with another layer of layer of lasagna sheets and remaining meat sauce. Spoon over the remaining bechamel sauce to cover the meat sauce.
4. Sprinkle with mozzarella.
5. Bake for 40 minutes or until the pasta is tender when tested with a skewer. Remove from oven and set aside for 15 minutes before serving.
6. Cut into pieces and serve with salad or steamed vegetables.

Notes

- Remove bay leaf from the bechamel sauce before layering the lasagna
- To make this gluten free, use gluten free lasagna sheets, and sub flour in bechamel sauce with gluten-free flour

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 412 Total Fat 31g Saturated Fat 14g Trans Fat 1g Unsaturated Fat 14g Cholesterol 110mg Sodium 747mg Carbohydrates 18g Net Carbohydrates 0g Fiber 3g Sugar 6g Sugar Alcohols 0g Protein 31g

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