Lisa Faulkner's lasagne is made with lean minced beef and white sauce made with skimmed milk.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
200g dried lasagne sheets
15g parmesan, finely grated
For the meat sauce:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 small garlic cloves, finely sliced
400g lean minced steak
2 tbsp tomato puree
250g tinned chopped tomato
1 beef stock cube, dissolved in about 2 tbsp boiling water
3/4 tsp marmite
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the white sauce:
300mlml skimmed milk
1 small onion, peeled
2 cloves, studded into the onion
2 fresh bay leaves
5 peppercorns
40g unsalted butter
40g plain flour
1 tbsp grated reduced fat mature cheddar cheese
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Method:
1. To make the meat sauce, heat the oil in a large frying pan or saucepan and fry the onion until browned. Add the garlic and cook for a couple more minutes.
2. Add the mince and cook until browned, breaking up the lumps with a spoon as you stir. Drain off any fat, but try to retain the meat juices if possible.
3. Add the tomato puree and stir in thoroughly, then add the tinned tomatoes, beef stock paste, marmite, a good glug of Worcestershire sauce and season with salt and pepper. Bring this to the boil, reduce the heat and then simmer for about 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, make the white sauce. Put the milk, onion (studded with cloves), bay leave and peppercorns into a saucepan over a moderate heat and bring up to a simmer. Do not let it boil. Turn off the heat and leave to infuse for 10 minutes, then strain and discard the bits
5. In a separate saucepan, melt the butter, then add the flour gradually, whisking it in until you have a smooth roux. Cook for about 4-5 minutes.
6. Add a quarter of the hot strained milk and bring to the boil, whisking to get rid of the lumps. Add half of the milk left in the pan and whisk again so there are no lumps and then finally add the remaining milk. Bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes making sure there are no lumps and you cannot taste the flour.
Stir in the cheddar cheese and the Worcestershire sauce and season to taste. Take off the heat.
7. Preheat oven to 190C/Gas 5.
8. In a medium sized ovenproof dish add a layer of the cooked meat sauce, then cover with a single layer of lasagne sheets, then pour over the white sauce. Repeat this process, finishing with a layer of white sauce. You should get about 3 layers of lasagne.
9. Sprinkle over the parmesan cheese and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes until it is golden and crispy on top. Test to see if the lasagne is cooked by piercing with a sharp knife. If the knife goes in with little resistance, the lasagne is soft and cooked. Leave the lasagne to rest, covered, for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with a portion of steamed vegetables.
Nutritional info:
Kcal: 621
Protein: 41.5g
Fat: 28g
Sat Fat: 9.5g
Carbs: 55.5g