Easy Deconstructed Lasagna
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott/Not Quite Nigella
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
- 2 onions, peeled and diced
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
- Extra virgin olive oil for frying
- 500g/1lb good quality beef mince
- 3 cups tomato passata
- 5 lasagna sheets
- 50g/1.7ozs sachet tomato paste
- Salt, pepper and sugar to taste
- 200g ricotta
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 3 tablespoons roughly chopped parsley
Step 1 - Heat a large saucepan or pot on medium to high heat and add the onions and garlic and cook until soft and fragrant. Add the beef mince in two batches and brown the meat and cook through. Add the passata and then add the lasagna sheets, roughly broken up. Cover the pasta in the passata and place the lid on and simmer for 15 minutes stirring occasionally so that the pasta pieces don't stick together.
Step 2 - Meanwhile you can blend the ricotta with the milk, 1/4 teaspoon salt and grated nutmeg and set aside. When the 15 minutes is up, remove the lid and add in the tomato paste and then season with salt, pepper and sugar to taste. I tend to add sugar in case the tomatoes aren't very sweet. Simmer for about 5 minutes with the lid off and the colour will change to a brighter red and the flavours will come together nicely.
Step 3 - Just before serving, add the grated mozzarella cheese and stir through until melted. Then add the ricotta and milk mixture and just stir through. Serve with chopped parsley.