Lasagne

I have been wanting to try making a lasagne for a few weeks now and finally managed to bake it last evening. It was not difficult to make as long as all the ingredients are available and baking time took only about 40 minutes at 180 C. There are some extra ingredient I added in like parsley, thyme and carrot to enhance the flavour of the meat sauce from the original recipe.

(Recipe from Pasta CookBook)

250 g packet instant lasagne sheets
1/2 cup freshly grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup thickened or pouring cream
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

Cream Sauce
60 g butter
3 tbsp plain flour
2 cups milk
1 cup freshly grated cheddar cheese

Meat Sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
1 carrot finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
500 g beef mince
2 x 425 g cans tomatoes
1/2 tsp ground oregano
1/2 tsp ground basil
1/2 tsp ground thyme
2 tbsp fresh parsley
salt & pepper, to taste

1) Preheat oven to 180 C
2) Brush oblong dish with melted better or olive oil. Line with lasagne sheets, fill any gaps. Set
aside.
3) To make cheese sauce (melt butter in a pan. Add flour and stir for 1 minutes. Remove from
heat. Gradually add milk, stirring until mixture is smooth. Return to heat. Cook, stirring
constantly over medium heat until sauce boils and thickens. Reduce heat, simmer for 3
minutes. Remove from heat, add cheddar cheese, salt and pepper, stir until well combined.
Set aside.
4) Heat oil in a large pan. Add onion, garlic, carrot and stir over low heat until onion is tender.
Add mince beef. Brown well, stir in tomatoes, oregano, basil, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring
to boil. Reduce heat, simmer 30 minutes.
5) Spoon one-third of meat sauce over lasagne sheets. Top with one-third cheese sauce.
Arrange layer of lasagne sheets over top.
6) Continue layering, finishing with lasagne sheet. Sprinkle with mozzarella and cheddar
cheese.
7) Pour cream over the top. Sprinkle with parmesan.
8) Bake for 34-40 minutes until bubbling and golden.