Baking with Burns: How to make lasagne

Now autumn is on its way, it's time to make way for some classic comfort foods.

The best dishes are ones which can be made in one pot and suitable for all the family. One such dish is lasagne.

Lasagne is an Italian dish made of stacked layers of thin flat pasta alternating with fillings such as meat and tomato sauce and other vegetables, cheese, seasonings and spices such as garlic, oregano and basil.

The dish is usually topped with melted grated cheese. The cooked sheets of pasta are assembled with the other ingredients and then baked in an oven. The resulting lasagne is then cut into single-serving portions and served with either vegetables or salad.

Because some members of my family are vegetarian I made my lasagne with a mince substitute and it was well received by the veggies and meat-eaters alike!

This dish may be a bit time consuming to make, but it is certainly worth it.

Ingredients 

Serves four to six

One tbsp olive oil

One onion, finely chopped

One celery stick, finely chopped

One carrot, grated

Two garlic cloves, finely chopped

500g mince (either mince beef or meat substitute)

One tbsp tomato purée

Two x 400g cans chopped tomatoes

500g pack fresh egg lasagne sheets

400ml crème fraîche

125g ball mozzarella, roughly torn

50g grated cheese (use a hard cheese such as Chedder or Parmesan)

Method 

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, celery and carrot and cook over a medium heat for five minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.

2. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Add the mince and cook slowly until it is browned all over.

3. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for a minute, mixing with the mince and vegetables. 

4. Add the chopped tomatoes. Fill each can half full with water to rinse out any tomatoes left in the can and add to the pan. Simmer for around 20 minutes.

5. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6. 

6. Put the lasagne together by ladling a little of the sauce into the bottom of a casserole dish, spread the sauce over the base. Place two sheets of lasagne on top of the sauce overlapping to make it fit. Repeat with more sauce and another layer of pasta. Repeat with a further two layers of sauce and pasta, finishing with a layer of pasta.

7. Put the crème fraîche in a bowl and mix with two tbsp water and make a smooth sauce. Pour this over the top of the pasta, then top with the mozzarella. Sprinkle the cheese on top and bake for around 25-30 minutes until golden. 

How about a competition time?

This week we are giving away a To The Moon Cupcake Kit, courtesy of Meri Meri. If your little one dreams of sci-fi style adventures, the To The Moon cupcake kit is a brilliant way to present delicious party treats. Featuring shiny silver cases and toppers with four beautiful designs including an astronaut, rocket, shooting star and 3D planet. Visit merimeri.co.uk for their unique range of treats, kits and dressing-up bits.

To win the cupcake kit, just answer the following question:

Where did lasagne originate?

DUE TO THE CURRENT SITUATION WE WILL ONLY BE RECEIVING COMPETITION ENTRIES VIA EMAIL.

Email your answer and full contact details to: competitions@questmedianetwork.co.uk. 

The closing date is Thursday 24 September.