lasagne with bolognese sauce from scratch

i've avoided making lasagne for a while, thinking it was troublesome to make. but people kept telling me how easy it was! so when i saw a recipe for lasagne in my jamie oliver cookbook, i thought i'd give it a go. i thought 'perfect, i'll make a lasagne and have leftovers all week.'

the lasagne was great, i loved it. (though it needed more cheese)

however! i had very few leftovers, since my brother, sister and i had 2 huge servings each. i don't think i'll be making lasagne very often, for the very reason i've avoided it in the first place. its a bit of work when you are making your bolognese sauce from scratch.


here's what i did:

sauce:
2 slices bacon, finely sliced
2 medium onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 carrots, finely chopped
3 celery stalks, finely chopped
olive oil
2 heaped teaspoons dried oregano
1 lb ground bison (beef)
2 x 14 oz can dixed tomatoes
sea salt & black pepper
bunch of fresh basil, chopped
parmesan cheese

in a large pan on medium heat, add olive oil (roughly 2 tablespoons, or 'lugs' as jamie oliver calls them), bacon & oregano. cook & stir til bacon is cooked. add the veggies & stir until softened & lighter in color. 8 minutes or so. stir in the ground meat & tomatoes. fill one of the cans with water and add ot pan. stir in salt & pepper. bring to a boil, turn heat down, and simmer with lid for 45 minutes. stir once in a while.

remove sauce from heat & finely grate 2 ounces of parmesan cheese into sauce. stir in basil leaves. taste & season if it needs it.


lasagne:
preheat: 375 F.

8 oz dried lasagne sheets
2 cups sour cream
4 ounces parmesan
mozzarella cheese (optional, i added this)
1 large ripe tomato, sliced
basil leaves

grate 4 ounces of parmesan (and however much mozzarella you want). boil water in a pan, add lasagne sheets with a touch of olive oil and blanch for 4 minutes. drain the sheets and carefully pat dry. spoon a third of your sauce into a 9x12 pan. layer with lasagne sheets. add a third of your sour cream & smooth over to cover sheets. add a third of your cheese. repeat layers, finishing with the sour cream & cheese. top with your sliced tomatoes, a sprinkle of sea salt & pepper, basil leaves & drizzle some olive oil on. cover with foil, slide in oven, bake for 20 minutes. remove foil, cook for 35 more minutes until lasagne is golden. if you are uncertain, poke with a fork to make sure noodles are tender.


i served my lasagne with a simple salad of spinach leaves, marinated artichoke hearts, kiwi fruit, topped with almond slivers roasted with butter & brown sugar. drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette.

so this is just a base recipe. i think next time i would like to use ricotta or cottage cheese instead of sour cream, and definitely add more mozzarella. my mom used to make lasagne with layers of blanched spinach, and that was amazing as well. be creative. you might as well if you're going through so much work to make lasagne anyways!