Welcome to Mum&sons

My two eldest boys challenged me to start a cooking blog with simple recipes that we can cook together - and my youngest one has now joined in. I am hoping they pick up some cooking and photograph skills... or that at least they learn to design and run a blog.


LASAGNA

The thing about lasagne is that though it looks like 'easy food' it is rather laborious to make. We normally make two and freeze one (freeze it without the cheese on top).

You need:

- 1 kg of minced beef meat
- 250 g of minced pork meat
- two big onions (diced)
- four carrots (diced thinly)
- two cloves of garlic (diced very thinly)
- lasagna sheets (we use 16 for our oven tray  and we buy the pre-cooked ones but the normal ones work well too provided you boil them foes a couple of minutes first)
- one bay leave
- four table spoonfuls of flour
- two table spoonfuls of butter
- 1 l of milk
- tomato sauce ( first six spoonfuls and then 10 more  - see our recipe)
- one glass of white wine
- cheese (to taste)
- salt
- olive oil

In a big pan fry the onion and the carrots with the bay leave over low heat until the onions are translucent (12-15 minutes). you can also add celery to this if you wish.  Then add the clove of garlic and fry for 5 more minutes ( all over low heat)

Separately put a bit of olive oil in a pan and fry the minced meat separating it with two wooden spoons so that you do not get lumps. Do this until the meat gets brown ( it is difficult to calculate how long this will take as it depends on the quality of the meat - if it is not very good meat you may  get lots of water in the pan so you will have to way until all of it evaporates - or just get rid of it with a spoon). Add the meat to the onions and carrots, add the tomato sauce, salt and mix it all well. Add the white wine and let it all bubble under high heat first and then low heat for 15 minutes.

In yet another pan prepare the béchamel sauce:  heat the butter in a pan. Then add the flour (stirring well so that it does not get burn).After 3-4 minutes add the milk and salt and keep stirring until you get bubbles and then for five or six minutes afterwards while the sauce thickens.  If you get lumps just blend the sauce with a  hand held blender just after you add the milk.

At this point you can start assembling the lasagna: put some béchamel sauce fist, then the meat, then the lasagne sheets, then tomato sauce, then béchamel again, meat, lasagne sheets, more béchamel on top and a bit of tomato sauce. Top it all with the cheese. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 200 degrees.