It doesn’t take a lot to make a good lasagne, as long as you layer this gorgeous pasta dish generously with tasty things. This sauce is basic, but not only do the cherry tomatoes make it colourful,  they also give a nice twist to the original bolognese sauce.  Of course you can make the béchamel sauce yourself, but for this “quick lasagne” the speediest way is a ready made version from a good brand. -enjoy-

 

 

Ingredients (serves 5-6)

For the tomato sauce
olive oil
1 kg quality minced beef
2 x 400 g tins of cherry tomatoes
500 g passata di pomodoro (one pack or bottle)

For the lasagne & white sauce
250 g fresh lasagne sheets
400 g of béchamel sauce
tsp of grounded nutmeg

For the “in between the sheets”
125 g of mozzarella, crumbled
1 large flesh tomato, thinly sliced
200 g of mature cheese, grated
40 g of parmigiano, grated
freshly grounded pepper & sea salt

Method

Preheat the oven at 200 degrees Celsius.

Put a large casserole dish or deep frying pan on a medium to high heat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Fry the minced beef until brown and cooked, add the cherry tomatoes and the passata. Stir and let bubble on a low heat. Season with pepper and salt to your own taste.

Heat up the béchamel sauce, add the nutmeg and keep warm on a low heat. Don’t forget to stir once in a while.

Take a large baking dish of roughly 20 by 30 cm. Grease with olive oil and layer the bottom with the lasagne sheet next to each other.

Put enough tomato sauce from your casserole dish onto the first layer of lasagne sheets to cover all. Lay 4 pieces of tomatoes on top of the sauce, pour a little of the white sauce over the tomatoes and the tomato sauce, scatter with some mozzarella, sprinkle with some mature cheese and season with salt & pepper.

Cover again with lasagne sheets and repeat the above until your sauce is finished. You might want to use 3 layers or 2, just what your prefer. Always finish with a layer of lasagne sheets. Pour the rest of the béchamel sauce over the sheets until covered. Sprinkle with the parmigiano and the left over mature cheese. Finish with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Put the dish in the oven for 45 minutes (with an oven tray underneath for overflow) until golden brown on top.