Beef Lasagna

by wiffy on February 5, 2009

in Baking,Pasta,Recipes,Recipes with Step-by-Step Photos,Savoury Foods,Western

A HUGE tray of beef lasagna

Dinner: A slice of beef lasagna served with garlic roasted asparagus

Note: There are detailed step by step photos on making the lasagna in this post.

This is my unauthentic way of making lasagna. I’m not sure what’s the authentic way, but I just have a feeling that mine is not authentic heheh … but it doesn’t matter as long as the lasagna tastes great right ;p I made my life much easier by ‘cheating’ whenever I can – for example, I use lasagna sheets that do not require precooking, shredded cheeses, and a bottle of pasta sauce instead of making the tomato paste from scratch. I love cooking shortcuts and not a purist in this sense I guess. I’ve always love lasagna since young so I was pleased that I manage to make it in the kitchen … now I can have lasagna whenever I want. Sometimes when I ordered lasagna at cafes (and also baked rice for that matter), I notice they tend to reheat it over and over again, causing it to be rather dry. If you cook it at home, this won’t be that much of a problem. It was quite a bit of work actually to arrange the pasta sheets & ingredients but it’s worth the effort if you consider that a huge tray like the one I made can feed many people (making it a great party food for potluck).

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In fact, B and I took about 2 days to finish the tray by having it for both lunch & dinner because the lasagna is quite filling … I suppose the ingredients are packed pretty densely. This post took a while to prepare as I spent a lot of time taking and sorting photos of the individual steps (especially the arrangement of the ingredients part), hope you will find them helpful if you are trying the recipe ^^

Ingredients

(Serves about 6 people – fills a roasting tray measuring 26cm by 20cm)
Recipe adapted from startcooking.com

- 1 large onion, sliced
- About 500g shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 small bottle of pasta sauce, 400g
- pasta sheets* (I use about 9 sheets for a 3 layered lasagna) , choose the type that don’t require pre cooking
- 600g minced beef
- 1/2 to 1 cup red cooking wine
- 1 tbsp olive/vegetable oil
- 5 bay leaves (optional)
- a bit of grated parmesan cheese/shredded ricotta cheese (optional)

* I use San Remo’s Instant Lasagna – oven ready lasagna sheets

You also need

- a roasting tray (mine measures 26cm by 20cm) or a disposable aluminum pan

Directions

Step 1: Heat some oil in a saucepan or wok, and saute the sliced onions till they are translucent.

Step 2: Fry the minced beef for a while, then add the pasta sauce (reserve a few tablespoons for step 5!), bay leaves and red cooking wine.

Step 3: Mix evenly, cook till beef is browned, bring to a simmer and dry consistency, season with salt & pepper if you like and off the flame.

Step 4: In a roasting tray, first spread a layer of pasta sauce with the back of the spoon at the bottom.

Step 5: Now we can start to layer the ingredients using this order.

First Layer – Noodles, Meat, Cheese
Second Layer – Noodles, Meat, Cheese
Third Layer – Noodles, Cheese

In this step, lay 3 overlapping lasagna sheets over the sauce as shown in the photo above.

Step 6: Add a layer of the previously cooked ground beef (use half the amount). I also sprinkled some chopped parsley as I happen to have some in the fridge.

Step 7: Sprinkle some shredded cheese (slightly less than 1/3) to cover the beef.

Step 8: Lay 3 overlapping sheets on top.

Step 9: Repeat for the second layer (See step 6 & 7 photos) – Add the remaining beef and spread evenly on top of the lasagna sheets, then add another layer of cheese (less than 1/3).

Step 10: Lay another 3 overlapping sheets over, then top with a final layer of remaining shredded mozzarella cheese. You can also add some shredded ricotta or grated parmesan cheese if you like. Bake in preheated oven of 200C for approximately 30 minutes till the top is slightly browned, and the sauce is bubbling.

The final product

My recently departed hamster, my beloved Neko Chan, enjoying some lasagna noodles (without the beef). Neko was my fave hamster and I miss him so much. It won’t be the same in the kitchen without such a discerning (and appreciative) food critic.