Since I started this blog it has become even more apparent to me that we are serious Italian food lovers. This is yet another Italian recipe, my lasagna – and I’m convinced it can stand up to any meat one – nay, destroy any meaty one as it is hearty AND healthy (healthier – you know I would never recommend skimping on the necessary fats, one of the best parts about this is the drooling mozzarella). It is one of the best recipes I have to serve to skeptical meat eaters as they have to admit it doesn’t leave them missing the meat – so when challenged by that grandpa asking how you are surviving without protein, bring this to the next family dinner!
The Best Lasagna
Ingredients:
- 1 pack of quick lasagna sheets
- 1 8oz tub of fresh bufala mozerella (I suggest ciglieni balls as they are easy to distribute)
for the Bechamel:
- flour
- milk
- 1/2 clove garlic, pressed
- s+p
for the Bolagnese sauce:
- 1 med. or 2 small courgettes, diced
- 1 28oz can plum peeled tomatoes
- 1 cup dehydrated TVP (textured vegetable protein) crumbles
- 2 tsp. boullion paste (or half a cube of dry bouillon)
- 1 med. yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- oregano
- basil
- butter
Pour TVP into bowl and add boullion (my fave is the Better than Bouillon no chicken stock ), 3 tablespoons of warm water and some italian herbs (basil, oregano, whatever you like). Leave to hydrate.
Dice up your onions and courgette and mince up your garlic. Throw your onion and garlic with some olive oil and sauté until onions are transparent. Add TVP mixture to saucepan and stir in with onions, add a fat hunk of butter (1tbsp). Saute for a couple minutes and then add in a squidge of ketchup and a splash of dry red wine, whatever you have laying around and saute for a few minutes longer. Then, add you can of tomatoes. Add another blob of butter. Turn to a simmer and let it hang out for a while.
While your tomato sauce is simmering away, in a separate saucepan make your bechamel (a bechamel is a creamy sauce of deliciousness): Pop a blob of butter and a bit of oil in a saucepan and turn the heat on low to melt the butter. Add in a couple tablespoons of all purpose flour and mix together until you have some paste the consistency of toothpaste. Add in a splash of milk and mix like crazy until mixed in and smooth. Keeping the heat to low, add another splash, whisk. You will see the sauce begin to thicken and it is a very satisfying process. Repeat and repeat adding milk and whisking until thickened. At this point I like to add my raw garlic. Many people are weird about garlic, if you are one of those people just disregard, it will still be delectable sans garlic. If this whole bechamel thing has you confused – Click here to learn more about bechamel.
Put half your bolognese into a 8″ square pyrex, cover with lasagna sheets, then half your bech, followed by the rest of your bolagnese, another layer of lasagna sheets, bechamel and then mozerella.
Cover with foil and bake for 20 mins on 350. Remove foil and bake for an extra 10 mins. Let cool for as long as you can restrain yourself and then serve with a delicious caesar salad!
