Homemade Lasagne - Fun not Faff!

Nov 28

Nov 28 Homemade Lasagne - Fun not Faff!

Cooking, Cooking Tips, Food, Food Culture, Healthy Eating, Home Cooking, Meals, recipes, Recipes

Lasagne is versatile, comforting, fun to make and easy to freeze. So start layering up!

Devouring a bowl of homemade lasagne is a bit like pulling on your favourite jumper on a cold winter’s day. Still, I can’t say the same thing about the supermarket offerings - just read the labels. Nevertheless, lasagne is the most popular ready meal out there. I guess people love the stodge and are sucked in by the images of oozing, caramelised cheese that adorn the packaging. But, more than anything else, it is probably the perception that lasagne is just a massive faff to make that drives the supermarket sales.

Most people seem more than happy to cook bolognese, but lasagne? No way. And realistically, lasagne is a bit more effort. However, there are not only plenty of ways to shortcut the hassle, but the win comes in the ease with which it can be portioned, frozen and re-heated to provide a near instant homemade meal. Invest the time upfront, and you’ll get a massive payback every time you come home and really can’t be arsed cooking.

Another point I always feel the need to make is the cost. If you double up my recipe below and make 8 portions of veggie lasagne, the cost will be a fraction of ready meal versions and so much better for you and The Planet.

So while you may consider it a bit of a wrangle to put together, I say just get organised, enjoy the process of conjuring up different combinations of layers and wallow in the long-term rewards of a freezer chock-full of quick, cheap meals that always satisfy.

Like most dishes, cooking lasagne from scratch gets easier the more times you do it - so stick with it. The result is ALWAYS tasty.

There are a ton of recipes out there for the traditional beef lasagne, but I almost always use it as an opportunity to concoct a delicious vegetarian meal. It’s such a great way to incorporate some odds and ends from the fridge with fresh seasonal vegetables, and time after time it turns out to be super-tasty.

I threw together a lasagne this week, and I was so happy with the result. I ate a portion and put 3 portions in the freezer, as it is such a great meal to defrost and devour when you are starving and have run out of steam. I’ll give you the recipe, but don’t be afraid to freestyle - it always tastes good!

Ingredients:

About 9 x Sheets of Lasagne
1 x 400g Can of Mutti Polpa (Chopped Tomatoes)
1 Tsp Fine Sea Salt
1 x Clove of Garlic
40g Black Olive Tapenade
200g Mushrooms
1/2 Butternut Squash or Pumpkin (about 200g)
100g Fresh Spinach
80g Halloumi
100g Ricotta
100g Mozzarella
20g Parmesan
12g Fresh Basil
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Double this recipe up for 8 easy to portion, easy to freeze meals!

Method:

Squash: Carefully cut in half, scoop out seeds, peel and then chop into chunks. Lay in on a baking tray with a drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a sprinkle of sea salt and roast for 25 mins on 180℃ until soft. Rizzle them around a couple of times to make sure they cook evenly and don’t burn. A bit of browning is fine but you don’t want the chunks to go crispy.

Mushrooms: Slice the mushrooms and place in a covered pan with a drizzle of water and cook on a low heat until soft.

Spinach: Place in a pyrex bowl and cook in the microwave for about a minute. Squeeze out some of the moisture if possible.

Tomato Sauce: Blitz the chopped toms with the garlic clove and salt.

Cheese: Grate the Halloumi, Parmesan and Mozarella.

Pasta: I like to blanch my pasta sheets in salty water so put on a large shallow pan and bring some water to the boil. Put your first 3 Lasagne sheets in and cook until floppy - you may need to turn and prevent the sheets from sticking together.

Construction: cover the base of the ovenproof dish (Approx 27cm x 18cm x 4.5cm) with some tomato sauce and them put down your first layer of Lasagne - you may need to cut to fit. Then follow my layers below…