This delicious lasagne is made with layers of veggie filled ragu and cheesy white sauce. An excellent meal to give to loved ones or store in the freezer for another day.

To a few of my friends' kids I am affectionately known as Vanya lasagne. So I thought it was high time I got my epic lasagne recipe on my website!

This meal is made up of two parts, my yummy bolognese ragu and cheesy white sauce. Both of which can be used in other meals. This recipe makes enough for 2 medium sized lasagnes. So you can have one for dinner and one for the freezer. 

Another thing I love about this meal is just how many vegetables are in it - including half a cauliflower! The cauliflower actually gives the ragu a subtle sweetness and I swear, the kids won't even notice it in there.

The secret to my ragu is the combination of beef and pork mince. Pork mince gives the meal a greater depth of flavour.

How to make this lasagne:

Bolognese:  Heat oil in an extra large frying pan or casserole dish. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook stirring for about 5 minutes on a medium heat.

Stir in the garlic and add in the mince breaking it up as you go. Cook for 10 minutes until the mince has browned. Stir in tomato paste, Italian herbs and sugar.

Add the cauliflower, passata and beef stock, mix to combine. Simmer on a low heat for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes until the liquid has reduced and the sauce has thickened up. Season to taste.

Cheese sauce: Place a large saucepan on a low heat and add the butter. Stir until melted then add in the flour and fry off for a minute.

Add the milk slowly, stirring between each addition, then let the sauce simmer until thick. Take the pot off the heat. Add the mustard and cheese, season well with salt and pepper then stir to combine.

Assembly: Preheat the oven to 180°C fan bake. Grease a large casserole dish. 

Cover the base with a layer of bolognese, then lasagne sheets, then cheese sauce. Repeat, then finish with a later of grated cheese.

If you are freezing one lasagne for later, set one aside after adding the grated cheese. Once it has come to room temperature and the meat has cooled, cover then freeze.

Bake for 40-50 minutes until golden and bubbling. Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 15 minutes before serving.

For great meals to feed a crowd, check out these yummy recipes for Mexican Style Beef Mince as well as my Pulled Pork.

Common questions and tips for Lasagne:

Can I mix up the vegetables? For sure. A lot of people add in 'fridge vegetables' as in, whatever needs using up! Grated parsnip, mushrooms, wilted spinach and capsicum could all be good substitutes. 

Is lasagne freezer friendly? Absolutely. As this meal makes enough for two lasagnes, I often freeze one of them for later. I freeze it in the casserole dish or a tin foil container that can go in the oven. If you're looking for tips, tricks and ideas on more freezer food, click through to my Freezer Meals Made Easy course page.

At what stage do I freeze the additional lasagne? The lasagne goes in the freezer uncooked. Once you have assembled it and added the grated cheese, set is aside to cool to room temperature. Then cover it with cling film or tin foil and freeze for up to three months.

TIPS

• As an alternative to freezing a second lasagne, you could also use the leftover components separately. I sometimes freeze the bolognese ragu in an airtight container and use it for a quick spaghetti bolognese another night.
• The extra cheese sauce can be tossed through some cooked macaroni and frozen as an easy mac n cheese for another night. See picture below.
• Gluten free lasagne sheets and flour can be used as a substitute.

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Vanya's Lasagne

Yield: Makes 2 x lasagnes

Prep Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours

An epic, big batch of lasagne made with a rich bolognese ragu and a cheesy white sauce.

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Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 onions, finely diced
• 2 carrots, finely diced
• 3 celery sticks, finely diced
• 1 Tbsp crushed garlic
• 1 kg beef mince
• 500g pork or lamb mince
• 1⁄4 cup tomato paste
• 2 Tbsp Italian dried herbs
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1⁄2 head cauliflower, finely diced
• 1 jar tomato passata, 680g
• 1 cup beef stock, 250ml

Cheese sauce:

• 100g butter
• 100g flour
• 1L milk
• 2 tsp wholegrain mustard
• 2 cups grated cheese, 200g

To assemble:

• 250g lasagne sheets
• 200g grated cheese, for topping

Instructions

1. For the bolognese: Heat oil in an extra large frying pan or casserole dish. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook stirring for about 5 minutes on a medium heat.
2. Stir in the garlic then add the mince and break it up with a wooden spoon. Cook for 10 minutes until the mince is browned. Stir in the tomato paste, Italian herbs and sugar.
3. Add the cauliflower, passata and beef stock then mix to combine.
4. Simmer on a low heat for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes until the liquid has reduced and the sauce has thickened up. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. For the cheese sauce: Place a large saucepan on a low heat and add butter. Stir until melted then add the flour and combine. Keep stirring for a minute to fry the mixture.
6. Start adding milk slowly, stirring between each addition. Once all the milk is added let it simmer until thick.
7. Take off the heat. Add the mustard and cheese, season well with salt and pepper then stir to combine.
8. To assemble: Preheat the oven to 180°C fan bake.
9. Grease a large casserole dish. Cover the base with a layer of the bolognese then top with the lasagne sheets. Pour over a thick layer of cheese sauce and spread to the edges.
10. Repeat with another layer of bolognese, pasta sheets and cheese sauce then scatter over the extra grated cheese.
    (Note: The extra lasagne goes in the freezer uncooked. Once you have assembled it and added the grated cheese, set it aside to cool to room temperature. Then cover it with cling film or tin foil and freeze for up to three months.)
11. Bake for 40-50 minutes until golden and bubbling. Remove from the oven and stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Notes

• If you only want to make one lasagne, you can halve the quantities of the ingredients.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 721Total Fat: 46gSaturated Fat: 21gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 19gCholesterol: 193mgSodium: 585mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 3gSugar: 10gProtein: 54g

Nutritional values are approximate. Please use your own calculations if you require a special diet.

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