Alison’s indispensable lasagna

When Alison left her parents house her mum’s lasagna was one recipe she couldn’t leave behind. It was the recipe that would have everyone in her family come back for seconds or even thirds. This is the recipe she decided to cook for me on a gloomy Saturday morning.

Ingredients:

1 large onion, diced
1 red and 1 green peppers, diced
a handful of mushrooms, diced
a pinch of salt and pepper
1-2 tbsp mixed herbs
500g minced beef
1 can chopped tomatoes
Lasagna sheets (7-10, depends on the size of the oven dish)

For the cheese sauce:

a big lump of butter
3-4tbsp flour
0.5l milk
75g extra mature cheddar, grated

Method

1. Fry the onion in a bit of oil, until brown, then add green and red peppers and fry a bit more. Then add mushrooms, salt, pepper and mixed herbs. Add minced beef and brown it (about 10 minutes), then add 1 can of chopped tomatoes. You can add a bit of ketchup, Worcester sauce and a gravy to add flavour and thicken it.
2. In a separate pot melt butter. Add flour to make a paste. Stir in the milk slowly, try to avoid lumps and keep stirring until it thickens, about 10-15 minutes. Then add cheese and stir.
3. Turn the oven to 175C. Put one layer of minced beef in a greased oven dish. Then gently press it down and then pour over cheese sauce, then cover it with lasagna sheets. Keep layering until it’s full. Shove it in the oven and cook it for about 40-45 minutes.

The final result is this very filling dish, dripping in cheese sauce, which is great for cold weather.