Wednesday 8 February 2017

One-Pot Lasagne.



Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

If any day could do with a one-pot lasagne, it would be a Wednesday.

It's cold and grey out there.
We're nearly at the end of the week but not quite. And if you're anything like me, you have a never ending to-do list. A comforting one-pot lasagne is exactly what we need.

I'm going to admit, I was quite sceptical about this recipe when I first made it. Would it really taste like a lasagne?

I'm happy to report that it most definitely does. I make mine with chicken mince but you can do lamb or beef. The mince is browned before being stir-fried with plenty of vegetables to give extra flavour and goodness. I prep the vegetables as I cook which means we can get dinner done much faster.

Then, comes the magic. We break up our lasagne sheets and throw them straight into the chicken sauce. Once they've cooked, in goes the cream cheese that is our shortcut for the traditional white sauce. Finally, we finish by melting over Cheddar for that classic lasagne look. A little fresh parsley to brighten everything up and we are done. Comforting, hot lasagne in less than half the time. I hope you love it as much as we do.

Lasagne, previously: my chicken lasagne // mexican lasagne

A Simple List of Ingredients:
1. Chicken Mince
2. Tinned Tomatoes
3. Vegetable Stock
4. Lasagne Sheets
5. Cream Cheese
6. Bell Pepper
7. Green Chilli
8. Celery
9. Carrots
10. Onions
11. Garlic Paste
12. Cheddar
13. Salt and Pepper
14. Dried Basil
15. Dried Oregano
17. Tomato Puree

Bismillah, let's begin!

We start with the pan. This pan should be big enough to hold everything together - the sauce and the pasta.

Heat the pan over medium-high heat and add in a few tablespoons Olive Oil.

Then, grab your mince. I used 500g (1 pound) Chicken Mince but lamb or beef would work just as well here.

Add the mince to the hot oil.

Break it up with your spoon.

And, cook until the mince is no longer pink and is beginning to turn brown.

Like this!

Next, to give our lasagne a lot of flavour and added goodness, we're going to add in the vegetables. You can prep them all beforehand but I like to prep as I cook to get things done faster.

We'll be using onions, celery, carrots, bell pepper and green chilli. You can leave any of them out except the onion.

So, I started with 2 Red Onions, peeled and diced.

They went into the chicken.

And, begin cooking down whilst I chopped celery.

I diced up 1 large Celery Stalk.

And, added that in too.

Because we want this lasagne to cook fast, I grated in 2 peeled Carrots.

And, threw them in. Grating the carrots helps them cook faster and gives a real natural sweetness to the sauce.

Next, for more brightness, I diced up 1 Bell Pepper.

Threw it in!

Before finally slicing up 1 Green Chilli.

And, adding that in too.

Now that all the vegetables are in, give them a good stir-fry until they begin to soften. This should take around 4-5 minutes.

Next, the seasonings. Add in:
1 teaspoon Garlic Paste
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Dried Oregano
1/2 teaspoon Dried Basil

Once in, give them a good stir-fry for 2 minutes.

Then, take 1 tin (400g) Tomatoes. You can either use plum or chopped.

Throw in all the tomatoes.

Next, for a richer tomato flavour, tomato puree.

Squeeze in 1 tablespoon Tomato Puree.

Stir-fry and bring everything to a boil.

Cover the pan with a lid and turn the heat to the lowest.

Cook for 15 minutes.

Then, uncover.

And, it's time for the stock. I used 300ml Vegetable Stock. You could also use the same amount of chicken stock or water.

Add in the stock. Mine was still defrosting!


Bring everything back to the boil.

Then, we can add in our lasagne sheets. I used the uncooked, hard ones.

Take 8 Lasagne Sheets (measuring 160g).

Break them up into roughly equal sized pieces.

Add them to the pan.


Stir them in so that they don't stick to each other.


Add a little more water, to make sure that all the lasagne sheets are covered by the liquid. Don't worry if everything looks too liquid. Once the lasagne is cooked, it will soak up all the liquid.


Stir together and bring everything to the boil.


Then, turn the heat to medium and let the lasagne cook for 12-15 minutes or until the pasta is cooked. Give it a stir every now and then. You can add more water, if you feel things are getting too dry.


Once the lasagne is cooked, we're nearly done.


A traditional lasagne has a creamy white sauce so with our quick version, we're going to use cream/soft cheese.


Spoon in 3 tablespoons Soft/Cream Cheese. You can add more or less, as you like.

Stir in the cream cheese and let it melt through the sauce.

Finally, a lasagne wouldn't be a lasagne without a cheesy top. So, sprinkle over 100g Cheddar, grated.

Cover the pan with a lid and turn the heat to the lowest for 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

And then, we're done!!

A one-pot lasagne cooked in half the time it would take to make a proper one.

Sprinkle over a little chopped Parsley and then, we can dig in!

Guys, even I was a little sceptical before trying this recipe. But it really does taste like a proper lasagne.

A steaming hot plate of goodness. Enjoy!

One-Pot Lasagne.

Prep Time: About 15 minutes - but 0 minutes if you prep as you cook.
Cook Time: About 1 hour.
Serves: About 4 people.

Ingredients

Few tablespoons Olive Oil
500g (1 pound) Chicken Mince (lamb or beef work too!)
2 Red Onions, peeled and diced
1 large Celery Stalk, diced
2 Carrots, peeled and grated
1 Bell Pepper, diced
1 Green Chilli, sliced
1 teaspoon Garlic Paste
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Dried Basil
1/2 teaspoon Dried Oregano
1 tin (400g) Tomatoes
1 tablespoon Tomato Puree
300ml Vegetable/Chicken Stock or Water
8 (160g) Lasagne Sheets, uncooked
3 tablespoons Cream/Soft Cheese
100g Cheddar, grated
Fresh Parsley, to garnish

Brown the chicken:
Heat a deep, large pan over a medium-high heat and add in the olive oil. Once it's hot, add in the chicken mince and fry until no longer pink. Break up the mince with your spoon.

In go the vegetables:
Add in the onion, celery, carrot, bell pepper and green chilli. Stir-fry everything together for a few minutes until the vegetables begin to soften.

Add the seasonings:
Throw in the garlic paste, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, dried basil and dried oregano. Stir-fry for a minute or two just to get everything coated in all the spices.

Tomato time:
Add in the tinned tomatoes and tomato puree. Stir-fry and bring everything to the boil. Cover the pan with a lid and turn the heat to the lowest. Cook for 15 minutes.

In goes the pasta:
Uncover and pour in the stock. Bring to the boil. Break the lasagne sheets into roughly equal sized pieces and add to the pan. Stir them around so that they don't stick to one another. Pour in a little more water if the sauce doesn't fully cover the pasta. Bring everything to the boil and then turn the heat to medium. Cook until the lasagne sheets are cooked through, stirring every now and then. Mine took between 12-15 minutes.

Nearly finished:
Stir in the cream cheese until well combined. Sprinkle the lasagne with the grated Cheddar and cover with a lid. Turn the heat to low and cook until the cheese has all melted - around 5 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and eat!

{adapted from the recipe rebel}

Your Photos:

This Time One Year Ago:

This Time Two Years Ago:
guacamole + roasted cherry tomatoes + soft-boiled eggs (on toast!)

This Time Three Years Ago:
lamingtons.

This Time Four Years Ago:
pear and walnut loaf.

Keep me in your duas please, and enjoy your lasagne!

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!


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