Servings : Serves 4-6
A classic luxurious and hearty Lasagna, packed with meat sauce, white sauce and lots of cheese!
Ingredients for Meat Sauce
- 500 gm beef mince (you can use chicken or lamb mince if you like)
- 4 onions, chopped
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- 1 tsp garlic paste
- 8 fresh tomatoes, blended until smooth
- 4 tbsp tomato paste/puree
- 2 tbsp tomato sauce/ketchup
- 1 green or red capsicum, chopped
- 2-3 sausages, fried and chopped (optional, you can leave this out)
- 2-3 green chillies chopped
- 1 tsp sugar
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- chopped coriander
- oregano (optional)
- 4 tbsp oil
- chopped veggies like beans, peas, carrots, sweet corn (optional, or you can use any that you like and leave the rest out)
Ingredients for White Sauce
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp flour
- 4 cups milk
- salt to taste
- white pepper powder to taste (you can also use black pepper)
Other Ingredients
- 12 lasagna sheets (approximately)
- 2-3 cups grated mozzarella and cheddar cheese
- oregano (optional)
- chopped coriander (optional)
Instructions
First, prepare the Meat Sauce
Heat oil, then add the onions and fry until soft and translucent. Add the ginger and garlic pastes, and when they release their aroma, add the mince and sprinkle some black pepper over it and fry whilst breaking the bits of mince so that there are no lumps until the mince changes colour to brown.
Now add the capsicum, green chillies and veggies, and sprinkle the spices of your choice (I normally add a pinch of turmeric and a tsp. of cumin powder) fry them with the mince for a few minutes, then add the chopped sausages if you’re using them, tomato paste and blended tomatoes. Cook on low heat, whilst covered, until the sauce thickens, and the mince is ready then add the ketchup, sugar and adjust salt and chilli. Sprinkle some oregano if you have it, or a bit of garam masala, squeeze the lemon juice in and sprinkle some chopped coriander, then turn off the heat. This sauce should not be dry, it should be saucy.
Next, prepare the White Sauce
Melt butter in a saucepan, stir in plain flour, then cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Cooking the flour in the butter helps reduce the ‘raw’ smell of the flour so don’t skip this step! Slowly whisk in milk, if you pour the milk in too quickly you will form lumps, so add gradually whilst whisking briskly to get rid of any lumps and form a smooth roux/mixture. Then bring to the boil, whilst stirring. Turn down heat, then cook until the sauce starts to thicken and coats the back of a wooden spoon.
Prepare your lasagna sheets, about 12 should be enough. Check if they need to be boiled first, or if they can be used as is. It is normally indicated on the carton. If they need to be boiled, follow the instructions on the pack and proceed to boil them for the time specified. Keep some shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese ready, my favorite combination!
Finally, assemble the dish
Grease a baking dish with some butter, then add a bit of white sauce (to prevent your lasagna from sticking to the dish), followed by some lasagna sheets. Try to avoid overlapping, you can break the lasagna sheets to fit your dish. Now pour some meat sauce, followed by white sauce and some cheese. Again add a layer of lasagna sheets, again the meat sauce and once more cover with the white sauce. You can add a third layer if your dish is deep enough. Make sure the final layer is covered with white sauce and you can sprinkle some cheese on top, and some chopped coriander and oregano if you like.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 C for about 40 minutes. If the top is browning too quickly, then cover it with some foil and continue baking. Once ready, remove and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes before cutting into the lasagna. This will ensure that your cuts will be neat and tidy.
Enjoy your yummy lasagna!! 🙂
hi,do u have to use
hi,do u have to use mozzarella cheese? can cheddar cheese only do?
Hi, I find that mozzarella
Hi, I find that mozzarella tends to add that stretchy gooey quality that we love in lasagnas and pizzas. You can use cheddar alone but it will not be as delicious in my taste. 🙂
8 tomatoes do you remove the
8 tomatoes do you remove the skin? if i were to use chopped tomato can instead should i just use one or two?
You can remove the skins if
You can remove the skins if you want, I normally just blend the lot. For canned tomatoes I would use 2 cans.
A pretty silly question, but
A pretty silly question, but how to determine that the Lasagne is cooked and ready to be removed from the oven?
As always, thanks a lot!!
Not a silly question at all.
Not a silly question at all. Well, since all (or most) of the components are precooked, normally 30-45 minutes are sufficient to set everything and finish off cooking the pasta/lasagna sheets. When you get the lasagna out, it should be bubbly and golden. Do not cut into it right away coz it will be runny, it needs to sit for some minutes and cool to make sure everything sets.
Salam fauzia,
Salam fauzia,
Im using marinara sauce instead of making the sauce. Could u tell me how much I’d have to use for this recipe?
W/Salaam, it would be hard
W/Salaam, it would be hard for me to estimate because I do not know the thickness of the sauce or how many layers you are making. Just use as much as will be required to make up all the layers. Probably around 5-6 cups.
Asak fauzia…your recipes
Asak fauzia…your recipes are wonderful…i wanted to know if its possible to make this recipe in microwave or it has to be baked only in the oven?
W/Salaam, thank you and I
W/Salaam, thank you and I bake this in the oven. 🙂
Please kindly revert to my
Please kindly revert to my query.
salams…. our lasagna sheets
salams…. our lasagna sheets paking state thus: the sheets do not require boiling.also it instructs us to use bolognise sauce abit more liquid than normal consistency. how to make bolognise sauce ? or can i use ur meat sauce instead if can how should the thikness of the meat sauce be? pls help me. jzk.
W/Salaam, yes you can use the
W/Salaam, yes you can use the sauce I have given above. It will be the right consistency. I tend to preboil the sheets just for a couple of minutes if it says no need to boil. Just to make sure they are perfectly cooked. 🙂
jazakallah 4 ur advice
jazakallah 4 ur advice
Salam. First I want to tell u
Salam. First I want to tell u ur kabsa recipie is a hITTTT . I Made it yesterday. Secondly plz tell me how much tomatoes and onion in grams u used for lasagne mince… Around 500 grams each?
W/Salaam, thanks! And yes
W/Salaam, thanks! And yes about 400-500gm.
Salam Fauzia
Salam Fauzia
Can i skip cheese from this recipe as i am lactose intolerant. For milk i will add soy milk.
Thanks
W/Salaam, yes you can
W/Salaam, yes you can although lasagnas are known for their creamy cheesy filling. 🙂
Is there an alternative I can
Is there an alternative I can use instead of cheese?
Sorry I do not know of a
Sorry I do not know of a cheese alternative.
which lasagna sheets did you
which lasagna sheets did you buy? san-remo or panzani?
Neither of those, I use a
Neither of those, I use a brand called Divella (I think). But then again there are so many pasta brands all over the world, whichever one is available to you should be fine.
which baking dish i hav to
which baking dish i hav to use? can i use a glass dish?
Yes that is fine, make sure
Yes that is fine, make sure it is oven proof.
as salaam alaikum 🙂
as salaam alaikum 🙂
I made the lasagna an hour ago , how do I heat it ?
W/Salaam, warm it in the
W/Salaam, warm it in the microwave.
Hi Fauzia, can I use a
Hi Fauzia, can I use a sufuria to bake instead? As I am to make this dish for a friend and she doesn’t have a baking dish or glass dish
Hi, yes you can although
Hi, yes you can although baking tomato dish in a sufuria sometimes makes the tomato part a bit too sour.
A/Salam
A/Salam
If I use a 14oz. jar of tomato sauce (which I normally use on pizza) then how many tomatoes should I use?
About 2-3 cups.
About 2-3 cups.
Assalamoalikum fauzia
Assalamoalikum fauzia
First of all thank you so much for this yummy recipe I have tried it and it turned out great.
My question is regarding white sauce whenever I make it be it in lasagna or mac n cheese it gets lumpy when I add milk though it doesn’t appear at the time of flour butter cooking and I add gradually. Is it that I use cold milk and make it when flour and butter is at stove.
And about lasagna sheets as my packet requires pre boil so for how much time it needs to be baked.
Thank you once again and please reply back asap as this time I have to make it for guests.
W/Salaam, thank you. Normally
W/Salaam, thank you. Normally lumps form if the milk is added too quickly and you need to be stirring or whisking constantly. Do not add all the milk, a little at a time and whisk until it is smooth then add more milk and keep whisking etc. For pre-boiled lasagna sheets, 25-30 minutes should be fine.
Hi fauzia, thanks for the
Hi fauzia, thanks for the recipe. for how long should you preheat the oven?s
Hi, until the oven
Hi, until the oven temperature reaches the mentioned temp.