Easy Homemade Lasagna
This easy homemade lasagna is the perfect date night dinner that you can enjoy. The meat sauce is tender and juicy and well seasoned. Perfect valentine's day dinner!
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 (100g) onions, chopped
- 3-4 large (200g) carrots, peeled & diced
- 2 bay leaves
- 700 g low fat minced beef
- 2 tbsp (70g) tomato paste
- 3 tomatoes, pureed
- Sea salt & black pepper, to taste
- 1½ cup water or stock
- 9 Lasagna sheets
- 100 g parmesan cheese, grated
Bechamel
- 700 ml milk
- 70 g unsalted butter
- 70 g all purpose flour
- A pinch ground nutmeg
- Sea salt, to taste
Instructions
- In a medium sized cooking pot, add in the cooking oil, onions and carrots & cook for about 5-7 minutes on medium heat till the carrots soften.
- Add in the bay leaves and the minced beef. Stir then cover and let it cook. It will release it’s own juices. Let it cook till all it’s juices have dried up and it has started browning. Remember to keep stirring every now and then. Takes about 20-25 minutes.
- Next add the tomato paste, tomatoes then season with sea salt & black pepper. Stir everything till well combined then cover and allow to cook for about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the water, cover and allow to cook down for another 15 minutes or so till the water has evaporated.
- In the meantime make the bechamel sauce. Ina small sauce pan, melt the butter then whisk in the flour and milk. Keep whisking to avoid lumping. cook on low heat for about 7-10 minutes. Season with some sea salt & nutmeg. Ensure the sauce is thick in consistency.
- Once the sauce is ready and the beef is cooked, Preheat your oven to 220°C then start assembling the lasagna.
- Start by greasing an oven proof dish then spread some bechamel sauce evenly then the beef then the lasagna sheets. Repeat the same process till you are done with the bechamel, beef sauce and lasagna sheets.
- Top it up with a generous amount of the parmesan cheese then bake for 20 minutes. Once baked, turn on the broil & broil for 5 minutes so as to have the top golden.
- Allow to rest for about 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
The type of lasagna sheets used here don't need to be precooked. Always check the package instructions of the lasagna sheet you have.
Always allow the beef sauce to dry up the water so that the dish doesn't become too soggy.
Spices of choice can be added into the beef sauce as well.