Lasagne al Forno

Aug 3 2008 by Catherine Welford, Sunday Sun

IT’S hard to imagine, but lasagne al forno used to be considered exotic when it first came to our attention in the late 1970s.

Ready-meal makers were quick to cotton on and succeeded in morphing a classic dish into a sad and sorry mass-produced mess, which dampened our ardour for a great dish.

If you’re suffering from lasagne fatigue, I urge you to try a homemade version . . . you won’t be disappointed.

I’ve tinkered with this recipe a lot over the years as my family grew and available time in the kitchen shrunk correspondingly, and I reckon this is as good as it gets if you want to get dinner on the table as quickly as possible.

Even this lasagne is not speedy cuisine, but it’s a heck of a lot quicker than the classic recipe.

One note of caution, however, a food processor or mini chopper is essential to keep this recipe speedy . . . it is possible to chop the veg finely by hand but it will add at least half an hour to the preparation time.

LASAGNE AL FORNO

SERVES: Four to six

You will need a deep, square or oblong ovenproof dish . . . usually sold as a lasagne dish, appropriately!

INGREDIENTS:

For the meat sauce:

500g (1lb) lean beef mince

1 large onion, roughly chopped

1 large carrot, roughly chopped

2 sticks celery, roughly chopped

200g (7oz) mushrooms

1 tsp dried oregano

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 x 400g (14oz) tins chopped tomatoes

1 beef stock cube

Salt and freshly-ground black pepper

For the white sauce:

600ml (1 pint) semi-skimmed milk

1 small carrot

1 small onion

1 stick celery

Four cloves

Six black peppercorns

1 bayleaf

40g (1½oz) butter or margarine

40g (1½oz) flour

Salt and pepper

12-15 sheets dried lasagne, depending on the shape of your dish

50g (2oz) Parmesan cheese

METHOD:

V Pre-heat the oven to 180C (360F, Gas Mark 4)

V Pour milk into a medium pan, and add carrot, celery, onion, peppercorns, cloves and bayleaf. Bring to boil then turn heat off immediately. Cover and set aside.

V Using a food processor or mini chopper, finely chop vegetables for main dish.

V Put minced beef in large saucepan and, over a medium heat, stir until it turns brown, using a wooden spoon to break up lumps. Add the vegetables, garlic and oregano and stir together.

V Crumble stock cube into mix. Fill one tomato tin with boiling water and add to sauce. Mix well and bring to boil. Half cover with lid and turn heat down, leaving pan to bubble gently while you get on with white sauce.

V Using a sieve, strain vegetable mix from the infused milk and discard them. Top up the milk to one pint if necessary.

V Melt butter or margarine in a saucepan, and add flour, stirring well until it forms thick paste. Cook for two minutes, then add infused milk, a quarter at a time, stirring well between each addition. Once all milk is added, bring sauce to boil, stirring all the time, until it is thickened and glossy. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper if necessary.

V Check the seasoning of meat sauce and adjust if needed.

V Pour one third of white sauce into baking dish, then cover with a layer of lasagne sheets. Continue thus . . . meat sauce, lasagne, white sauce, lasagne, meat sauce, lasagne, white sauce.

V Sprinkle top layer of white sauce with grated Parmesan and cook in pre-heated oven for 45 minutes to an hour, until top is browned and bubbling and lasagne sheets feel soft when poked.