Lamb Lasagne

New Year’s resolution FINALLY activated! Basically, I wanted to cook with a more varied meat selection. Lamb, bring it.

This is my first foray into the world of lamb, and I chose a simple way to start: lamb mince.  Recipe gratefully stolen from my aunt, who cooked it on a recent family outing and it went down a storm. Clearly, I had to try it out myself.

This is a great recipe if you’re not a fan of the creamy, occasionally stodgy, béchamel because it just leaves it out. Instead, you get a great meat ragu topped with some crème fraiche and peppers. Really scrummy.

The flavours from the lamb give a brilliantly exotic taste to the dish, and it is something I’ll definitely be making again. Leftovers are also a sheer delight, it reheats beautifully.

Serves 4

Ingredients for the meat ragu

• 1.5 tbsp olive oil
• 1 leek, sliced
• 1 pepper, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, diced
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• ½ tsp paprika
• 500g lamb mince
• 150ml red wine
• 250g pasatta
• 350ml lamb or chicken stock
• 150g halves cherry tomatoes (optional)

To finish

• 150g lasagne sheets
• 3 tbsp crème fraiche
• Handful parmesan, or other cheese
• 100g sliced sweet peppers

Method

Heat 1 tbsp of oil and fry the leeks and peppers for 5-10 minutes until softened.

Stir in the garlic, rosemary and paprika and cook for a further few minutes.

Add in the lamb mince and stir frequently until browned through.

Add wine and simmer for 4 minutes, then add pasatta  and stock and season.

Simmer for 30 minutes until the sauce has reduced slightly.

Leave to stand for 5-10 minutes and skim off the fat. Stir in the cherry tomatoes if using (I didn’t because tomatoes are gross.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

Finally, prepare the lasagne for the oven. To assemble: ragu, pasta, ragu, pasta, ragu, pasta, ragu then top with dots of crème fraiche, and the sliced sweet peppers.

Scatter over the cheese, then place in the oven. 

Cook for 30 minutes until golden and cooked through. You can place a bit of foil on top after 20 minutes if it’s burning.

Leave for 5 minutes before slicing and getting stuck in. I served with bread and spuds (of course!) and a cursory salad.

Get in my belly.