Lasagna is a culinary dish prepared with stacked layers of pasta modified with sauces and ingredients such as vegetables, meat and cheese, and topped with melted grated cheese. Usually, cooked pasta is tossed with other ingredients and baked in an oven. The resulting baked pasta is cut into single-serving square portions.
Lasagna provides carbohydrates such as starch and sugar that come from noodles. The cheese, meat, pasta and tomato sauce found in this dish also contain vitamins B, which is a group of nutrients that supports body’s metabolism and enhances healthy circulation. Add vegetables to lasagna to boost the intake of nutrients.
Ingredients
Beef sauce
- 1 lb. Ground beef
- 150g Onion, chopped
- 100g Red wine
- 100g Diced tomatoes, undrained
- 2 tbsp. Tomato paste
- 500g Stock [white or brown]
- 1 ½ tsp All purpose
- 1 medium Green pepper diced
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
White sauce
- 2 tbsp. Butter
- 3 tbsp. All-purpose flour
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Pepper
- 1 liter Milk
- ½ tsp Nutmeg [ optional]
Tomato sauce
- 1tbsp Oil
- 50g Onion
- 2clove Garlic
- 250g Tomatoes
- ½ tsp Oregano
- ½ tsp Thyme
- To taste Salt and pepper
Lasagna
- 200g shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1pack lasagna sheets or noodles, cooked
Method
- Cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink, add wine and allow to reduce to half; then add tomatoes, tomato paste, stock and seasonings. Cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, add flour – to thicken sauce if needed, and green pepper. Stirring occasionally. Cook further for about 10 to 15mins.
- Meanwhile, melt butter in a large saucepan, stir in the flour until blended. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Remove from the heat and stir in half of the cheese, and set aside.
- Put oil in a pot on fire, add onion and garlic, then sauté; add tomatoes and cook for about 10mins, season with oregano, thyme, salt and pepper to taste.
- Start by layering the bottom of a greased baking dish with enough noodles to cover the bottom.
- Spread the red sauce over the noodles, followed by the white sauce and beef sauce, spreading all to the edges.
- Top with another layer of noodles, then red sauce and white sauce.
- Add the final layer of noodles, then white sauce and cheese. Spread the red sauce as garnish on top of cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is browned nicely. Allow the lasagna to sit or rest for 15-20 minutes before serving.
