Ultimate makeover recipe for 6 people, takes only 50 mins; recipe has olive oil, onion, carrot, garlic clove, rump steak, pork, red wine, tomato puree, plum tomato, ground nutmeg, basil leaf, spinach, egg, ricotta, flat-leaf parsley, lasagne, mozzarella, parmesan, cherry tomato and basil leaf.
The ultimate makeover: Lasagne
Course: Ultimate makeover
Servings
6
servings
Prep time
35 mins
Ingredients
- Red Wine: 100ml red wine
- Flat Leaf Parsley: handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- Garlic Clove: 3 plump garlic cloves, finely chopped
- Parmesan: 50g parmesan, coarsely grated
- Cherry Tomato: 200g cherry tomato on the vine
- Basil Leaf: handful basil leaves, torn
- Olive Oil: 1 tbsp olive oil
- Onion: 1 onion, chopped
- Egg: 1 egg
- Carrot: 2 medium carrots, diced
- Tomato Puree: 2 tbsp tomato puree
- Mozzarella: 125g ball mozzarella, preferably buffalo, roughly chopped
- Ground Nutmeg: tsp ground nutmeg, plus a pinch
- Spinach: 300g fresh spinach
- Ricotta: 250g tub ricotta
- Plum Tomato: 400g can plum tomato
- Rump Steak: 250g lean rump steak, trimmed of fat, thinly sliced, then very finely chopped
- Pork: 250g lean minced pork
- Lasagne: 6 wide sheets (about 175g/6oz) no pre-cook lasagne
Directions
- Make the meat sauce: heat oil in a large saute pan, then tip in onion and fry for 5 mins until golden. Add carrots and garlic, then fry for 2 mins more. Stir in both meats, breaking up the pork with a wooden spoon. Cook over a high heat until the meat is no longer pink and the juices are released. Pour in wine, scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir, then cook for 1-2 mins until the liquid is reduced. Tip in tomato puree, tomatoes and 2 tbsp water, then stir to break up tomatoes. Add 1/2 tsp nutmeg and some pepper, cover, then simmer for 1 hr, stirring occasionally. Taste and add salt if you like. Mix in torn basil. Sauce can be chilled for up to 1 day.
- While the sauce is simmering, prepare the other layers. Tip the spinach into a large bowl and pour over boiling water. After 30 secs, tip spinach into a colander and put under cold running water briefly to cool. Squeeze to remove excess water. Beat the egg in a bowl, then mix with ricotta, parsley, a pinch of nutmeg and pepper. Soak the lasagne sheets in a single layer in boiling water for 5 mins. (Although the packet says no pre-cook, I find soaking improves the texture.) Drain well. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
- Start layering. Spread a few big spoonfuls of sauce to barely cover the base of an ovenproof dish (20 x 29 x 6cm deep). Cover with 2 sheets of lasagne, then spread over half the remaining sauce. Cover with 2 more lasagne sheets, then scatter spinach evenly over. Spread the ricotta mixture on top and cover with 2 more lasagne sheets. Spread with remaining sauce, then scatter over mozzarella and Parmesan to almost cover meat. Top with cherry tomatoes and some pepper, then cover loosely with foil.
- Bake for 35 mins, then remove foil and bake 5-10 mins more. Leave for a few mins, then scatter with basil and serve with salad.