I currently don’t work on Wednesdays, so I have a bit more time in the afternoon to put an evening meal together. This lasagna is an adaptation of the Edmond’s recipe, into which I grate whichever veges I have on hand. It makes enough for at least two meals, so it covers two nights in a row, or you can freeze some for another time.
Ingredients:
Meat Sauce:
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
500g lean beef mince
4 carrots, grated
4 leaves of silver beet, grated
1 medium sized kūmara (sweet potato), pealed and grated
400g cans tomatoes in juice, chopped
1 jar Macro Organic Pasta Sauce
up to 1/2 cup rolled oats
1 packet of whole grain lasagna sheets
Béchamel/Cheese Sauce:
50g butter
1/4 cup plain flour
1 1/2 cup milk
200g cheese grated
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 180°C (356°F).
Meat Sauce:
Heat the oil in a pan, add onion and garlic and cook until onion is clear. Add beef mince and cook until brown. Add in the grated vegetables (these can be exchanged for whatever you have available). Add in the canned tomatoes and the pasta sauce. Cook through. Depending on how sloppy the mixture is once cooked, you can add up to 1/2 a cup of rolled oats to thicken up the mixture.
Béchamel/Cheese Sauce:
Melt the butter over a low heat. Add the flour and whisk together over heat until frothy. Add milk a little at a time, whisking as you go, heat until thickened before adding more milk. Take off the heat and stir in grated cheese. Reserve a little cheese to sprinkle on top of the lasagna.
Assemble the Lasagna:
In an oven proof dish, apply a layer of meat sauce, a layer of lasagna pasta and a layer of béchamel/cheese sauce. Repeat this for about 3-4 layers. Top the last layer with the remaining grated cheese and bake at 180°C (356°F) for at least 30 minutes.
What the kids can do:
Hand washing: Don’t forget to get the kids (and grownups too of course) to wash their hands before you start. Little hands always seem to end up touching everything, including the ingredients. This is extra important given the current Covid-19 situation. For good 20 second hand wash, have them sing “happy birthday to me” twice.
Grating the vegetables: My daughter likes to help using the food processor to grate up the whichever vegetables we use. You can use whichever veges are in season, in your fridge, or even your freezer. You don’t have to grate them, but I find kids more likely to eat lasagna with ‘hidden’ vegetables, even if they know they are in there, having helped make it. Bear in mind that little hands can fit down the shoot of the food processor, so always supervise this step. When it comes to the cooking part, I do that . I’m sure when Miss 5 is a little older she can help with that as well.
Assembling the lasagna: We normally do this on the floor, on a towel to catch any messes. Miss spoons the meat sauce. We both put a lasagna sheet on each, breaking off two corners to fit in the dish we use. I pour in the béchamel/cheese sauce and Miss 5 spreads it around. After a sprinkle of cheese, I put it in the oven where it can stay till dinner time.
Eating the lasagna: Currently this is Miss 5’s favorite meal. She will eat everything on her plate, ‘hidden’ veges and all. This is a great way to get a fussy eater to eat their vegetables, and even enjoy them!
Keeping Them Occupied 