Ingredients:
-Jar of Dolmio
OR Red onion,
Tomato paste,
carton of tomatoes in tomato juice,
salt,
pepper,
basil/any other herbs you like,
gravy granules.
For the vegetables to go in the sauce, choose whatever you like, I usually go for root vegetables as they hold their shape better (carrot, swede, not potato) and something interesting such as asparagus etc.
Can of kidney beans.
Can of chickpeas
Butter or margarine
Plain flour
Milk 200ml
Cheese
Lasagne pasta sheets
Part 1-Red sauce-
Either get a Dolmio, or similar red, sauce or make your own. If you cop out for a jar skip 2-4
1. Cut up all of the vegetables apart from the onion, and put them in to boil, in water, obvs, with a pinch of salt, until you can poke them, to your liking, with a fork.
2. While the veggies are boiling cut up the red onion, cut off the root first and bin it, that's what makes you cry, or wear goggles (sexy), neither are failsafe but both seem to work.
3. Fry the onion, in olive oil, with some garlic, salt and pepper. When the onion is soft add some tomato paste, and then when all of the onion is coated, the carton of tomatoes in juice.
4. Add fresh basil, pepper, some oregano if you like. Season to taste. (literally stick your spoon in and taste a bit, add some of a herb/spice that you like the smell of, and repeat until you like the taste of the sauce. Don't go nuts though. I sometimes add gravy granules, 'cause it's easy.)
5. Drain the vegetables, add to sauce, or if you went for the jar option, add jar of sauce to vegetables. Add the cans of kidney beans/chickpeas if you want them. In both cases add about 100ml of water (can be used to wash out the jar,) so that your sauce looks slightly watery. Set this mixture to one side. RECYCLE THOSE TINS AND JAR (WO)MAN!
Part 2- White sauce
1. Put about two tablespoons of margarine(/butter if you want a better taste/bigger hips), into a saucepan, let it just melt on a very low heat (lowest setting) YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS IF IT BURNS IT'S GROSS.
2. Take it off the heat (off the hob) and add a tablespoon of flour, stir with a wooden spoon and add more flour if needed to make the mix come off the sides of the saucepan, and be thick enough to stay off.
3. Add about 300ml of milk and whisk, transfer back to the hob. Whisk gently but continuously for 2 mins, I mean it.
4. Leave it to settle for 20 seconds (NO MORE) then stir a few times, repeat, you're waiting for the sauce to begin to thicken, you will feel it when you try to whisk.
5. When you feel it begin to thicken keep stirring, THIS IS THE STAGE IT MIGHT BURN INTO BAD TIME PYJAMAS, WATCH OUT. So keep stirring, slowly, until it has become a thick white sauce.
6. Take the pan off the heat, grate as much cheese as your diet allows/ you want and add to the sauce, stir in until it's melted. I like to season with pepper. Taste the sauce. It's your fault if you burnt it. I did warn you.
Part 3- Making up the lasagne
1 . Set a pan of water boiling, when it is, add your lasagne sheets to it, about 3 at a time so they don't stick together, until they become floppy.
2. Put a layer of red sauce in the lasagne bowl, and cover with the par-boiled lasagne sheets, then white sauce, then lasagne sheets then red sauce.... you get the idea.
3. Last layer should be cheese sauce.
4. Bake in the oven at 200 for 1hr.
