A Classic Lasagne Recipe

I love a good classic. Like a flared classic black dress. Listening to fly me to the moon over and over again or a classic lasagne recipe.

Who would bake a dish in early June and blog about it in the middle of July?

Me.

I love a good classic.

Like a classic flared black dress.

Frank Sinatra's fly me to the moon on repeat mode.

Or a classic lasagne recipe.

Pasta lovers are generally divided into three groups.

Group 1: The red sauce lover.

Group 2: The white sauce lover.

Group 3: The red and white lover.

I do eat creamy based pastas but when it comes to red sauce pasta, I can eat HEAPSquite a bit. My mom on the other hand prefers a white sauce pasta. I think a lasagne would be the perfect pasta dish.

Red sauce ✔

White sauce ✔

Don't you just wonder as to whether it is lasagne or lasagna. Come'on, don't tell me none of you ever wondered which is the correct spelling? Don't tell me that I am the only dumb one? *inserts sad emoticon* Anyways, it is spelled as Lasagne in Italy and lasagna in America. Well, Italy is home of lasagne and since i am half Italian by heart, so I spelled it as Lasagne. Mi piace l'italiano. ♥

Lasagne is super popular and very well received all across the world. An abundance of pasta, tomato sauce, meat, and CHEESE, like what is there not to like about it. Even if you are a vegetarian, a vegetarian lasagne is no less yummy. Just omit the beef used in this recipe and you have just found a good vegetarian lasagne recipe. There are so many yummy dishes in this world. How can a girl ever keep up and still try to fit in a dress that does not have a "L" in the sizetag!

Instant lasagne sheets are the bomb! Make things so freaking easy. I mean who wants to take out another pot just to boil pasta? Not to mention having to take extra care as not to have them tear. And who wants to wash an extra pot? Not me for sure. Instant lasagne sheets are perfect for convenience. Lay and build, lay and build. This is a classic lasagne recipe and it is yummy and cheeeezy so please don't be a health nut and try to skimp on the cheese. This is NOT skinny Mondays people. Load it up with cheese, for pete's sake.

Prep Time - 30 min Cook Time - 2 hr Total Time -2 hr 30 min

Ingredients

1 box of instant lasagne sheets

300g mozzarella cheese - shredded

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Ingredients for white sauce

85g salted butter

85g plain flour

750 ml milk (I used low fat)

50g grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for the red sauce

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 (28 ounce) cans of crushed tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato puree

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp salt or more according to taste

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

In a pot, add 2 tbsp of oil and saute the onion and garlic for 2 minutes.

Mix in tomato paste and cook for a further 30 seconds.

Add ground beef and cook until brown.

Stir in crushed tomatoes, water, salt, sugar and pepper.

Simmer for about 30-40 minutes.

Finally add parsley.

To assemble

Spread 1 cup red sauce onto the bottom of a 13 by 9 inch baking dish.

Top with a layer of lasagne sheets, 1/3 of the white sauce, 1/3 of the mozzarella and sprinkle some Parmesan cheese.

Repeat the procedure twice, till you get three layers of lasagne.

Top with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.

Cover the lasagne with a aluminum foil. You can either spray foil with cooking spray or grease the foil with some oil, so that the foil does not touch the cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 20 minutes.

Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Notes

The sauces can be made a day in advance.

Source: Maya Kitchenette