Recipe of the Week

Three-Cheese Meatball Lasagne

Image Credit: BBC Good Food

Our lovely Nutrition Champion Kerry gave me this recipe about a month ago but due to my tardiness, it is only now seeing the light of day. We hope you enjoy this hearty comfort food.

Ingredients: (serves 4)

12 sausages

2 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, chopped

4 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tsp fennel seeds 

2 tsp dried oregano or a small handful of fresh oregano leaves, chopped 

½ tsp chilli flakes (optional)

1tbsp sugar

500ml Passata

400g can chopped tomatoes 

100g butter

2 bay leaves

100g plain flour 

1 ltr milk

¼ fresh nutmeg, finely grated

100g baby spinach 

Handful basil leaves, torn

50g Parmesan, grated

250g dried lasagne sheets (approx12 sheets)

50g cheddar, grated

150g ball mozzarella, torn into small pieces

Method:

Squeeze the meat from the sausages and roll into meatballs (you should aim for four balls from each sausage). Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a wide deep frying pan or casserole dish. Cook the meatballs in batches, making sure that you don’t overcrowd the pan, until they are all golden brown. Put them aside on a plate when they are ready.

Heat the rest of the oil in a pan and add the onion. Cook for 8-10 minutes until soft, then stir in the garlic, fennel, oregano and chilli if using. Stir around for a minute or two then add the sugar, passata and tomatoes. Swish a little water around the container to wash out all the tomato and add to the pan. Season well and simmer uncovered for 30-40 minutes over a gentle heat until the source thickens and the chopped tomatoes break down.

Heat the butter in a saucepan, add the bay leaves and let them sizzle in the butter 1 minute then add the flour. Whisk to make a smooth paste then add the milk a little at a time, stirring continuously until it’s all incorporated and you have a thick white sauce. Add the nutmeg and some seasoning and leave over a low heat for 5 minutes to allow the bay leaf to infuse, whisking now and then.

Keep about 10 meatballs aside and add the rest to the tomato sauce. Spoon half the tomato sauce and meatballs into a baking dish. Top with half the spinach and basil and a little Parmesan. Pour over about a third of the white sauce and top with a layer of lasagna sheets, breaking them to fit the dish.

Repeat the layers once more - add sauce, spinach, basil, Parmesan, white sauce and passata, pour the remaining white sauce over the lasagna spreading it to the corners to cover the pasta. Dot with the meatballs you set aside earlier. Add the mozzarella then scatter over a generous helping of Parmesan and cheddar. Heat the oven to 190/170 fan/gas mark 5 and bake for 40-50 minutes until bubbling and golden with lots of crusty cheese bits around the edges. Leave to sit for 5-10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

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