Mum’s Lasagna

Ingredients

• 1 kg beef mince (ground beef) (2 lb)
• 1 large onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• 3 rashes bacon chopped (optional)
• 1 medium zucchini grated (optional)
• 1 cup mushrooms chopped
• 1 large tin Heinz Big Red Tomato Soup (820g/30oz)
• 1 splash olive oil
• 1 dash Worcestershire sauce (optional)
• 2 cups milk (or soy milk)
• 2 tablespoons plain flour
• 60 grams butter (or butter substitute) (2oz/60ml/3 tbsp)
• 5-10 peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 bunch parsley stalks

Instructions

1. 1. Heat some olive oil In a large sauce pan. Fry the onion and garlic until golden.
2. 2. Add the bacon and fry until cooked but not crunchy.
3. 3. Grate in the zucchini and add the mushrooms. Stir to mix and fry for 5-10min. Add a little more olive oil if required.
4. 4. Next, add the mince beef and cook until no longer pink, just a light brown colour.
5. 5. Give the tin of tomato soup a good shake and then open and add to the mince. Mix well and lower the heat to allow mixture to simmer. Now on to make the bechemel sauce!
6. Pre-heat your oven at this stage to 180 degrees Celsius (160C fan forced, 350F)
7. 6. Place 2 cups of milk in a small sauce pan along with the parsley, peppercorns, and bay leaf. Bring to the boil.
8. 7. Strain milk (to remove all the parsley, bay leaf etc) and set to one side.
9. 8. Melt the butter in same saucepan you used for the milk.
10. 9. Combine the flour gradually with the melted butter over a med/low heat.
11. 10. Add pinch of salt and a little pepper.
12. 11. Gradually add the milk to the butter flour mixture ensuring the milk is still warm.
13. 12. Heat and continue stirring until thickened to desired consistency.
14. 13. Now get a large oven proof dish / baking tray. Spoon some of the juice from the mince into the bottom of the tray to grease it.
15. 14. Lay the first layer of lasagna sheets down. Break them to fit the dish.
16. 15. Spoon a thin layer of the mince mixture onto the lasagna sheets and dribble a little of the bechemel sauce on top of this. Add the next layer of lasagna sheets and repeat.
17. 16. Don’t use all the bechemel sauce, save at least half (or more) for the last layer. The last layer should just be a thin layer of meat with mainly bechemel sauce poured all over it.
18. 17. Pop into the oven and bake for 20-30 min. Push a skewer into the dish to check if the pasta sheets are cooked.
19. Enjoy!