My love for Italian food is because of my aunt Monica. She is my mother's younger sister a nun who has been in an Italian convent for the past 30 years. It's from her stories and kitchen that I learnt to love Italy. And with my Erasmus fellowship I was exposed to Italy for real, something I never imagined and wished for. Italy taught me a lot about myths and facts about Italian cooking. It taught me to love the authentic pizzas over the American counterparts. It taught me to appreciate wine as an ingredient and a liquid. Lasagne is a common main course dish in Italy which comprises of lasagne sheets alternated with layers of minced meat, veggies, cheese and marinara. I had never tried it so far because I was skeptical about how I could manage it in my microwave oven. But to my surprise it came out well and I am proud of my produce.
Ingredients for Lasagne with Spinach and minced meat
Lasagne sheets - 1 box
For spinach filling
Spinach- 2 bunches
Cream- 100ml
Milk- 100 ml
Butter- 50gm
All purpose flour- 2 tbsp
Vodka- 2 tbsp
Pepper- 2 tsp
Salt
Garlic- 4-7 pods
VInegar- 2 tsp
For minced meat filling
Mince meat ( chicken/beef/mutton) I used chicken- 300 gm
Onion sliced- 2
Grated carrot- 50 gm
Grated cabbage- 50 gm
Capsicum chopped- 50 gm
Mushroom- 200 gm
Tomatoes- 5- chopped
Tomato puree- 100ml
Garlic - 4-7 pods
Oregan0- 2tsp
Sweet basil- 2tsp
Olive oil- 2 tsp
Directions
For Spinach filling
In a pan heat the butter. Saute the garlic and when they turn brown add the flour . When this turns brown add milk and make a white sauce. Add chopped spinach to this sauce and add a dash of salt and pepper. Let the spinach cook in the sauce. Add cream and vinegar after this.
And once the sauce thickens add a dash of sweet basil and take the sauce of the flame to cool.
For Minced meat filling
Heat the olive oil. Saute onions and when they brown add the chopped tomatoes and salt. When the tomatoes cook and has transformed to a thick sauce add the tomato puree and chopped mushroom.
I had made meat balls with carrots and cabbage shredded the previous night. It was intended for another dish which eventually got added to this sauce. You can add the minced meat and grated vegetables directly at this stage too.Add oregano and basil into the gravy and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
In a casserole line the lasagne sheets. I cooked the sheets for 5 minutes so that they bake easily in my microwave oven and saves me some power. Lay the mince meat gravy followed by chunks of grated cheese. i used Amul processed cheese because I found mozarella quite expensive. Now add the next layer of spinach gravy and cheese again.
Lay the next sheets of lasagne and then the minced meat gravy, top it with cheese and alternate with spinach gravy till the casserole is filled. Bake the dish at 180 degrees for 25 minutes. I baked it in microwave oven so I am not sure about the regular oven. Once baked take the lasagne off the oven and slice it into portions. I loved the tanginess of tomatoes with the saltiness of cheese and I guess I will continue using processed cheese as long as I don't get economical cheddars and mozarellas. Lasagnes are time consuming but trust me its worth it when you taste them. And if you are someone like me who prefers home cooked meals for the personalised touch, love and saving your wallet, you definitely will try this. My hubby loves things spicy so I added quite a bit of paprika to the minced meat filling, you can try this if you find Italian food bland.
Labels: Chicken, Italian
