TREAT YOURSELF TO A TUNA LASAGNE
It’s midweek, and you already yearn for the weekend. Well, a scrumptious plate of tuna lasagne can change all of that! The great thing about this dish is that is easy to do, and takes a reasonably short time to prepare.
INGREDIENTS
• 250 g lasagne sheets
• 3 x 170 g cans Lucky Star Tuna, drained
• 11⁄2 cups (375 ml) frozen vegetable mix (peas, corn and carrots)
• 2 tsp (10 ml) fresh chopped garlic or 1 tsp (5 ml) dried garlic flakes Juice of 1 lemon
WHITE SAUCE:
• 3 Tbsp (45 ml) butter
• 3 Tbsp (45 ml) flour
• 11⁄2–2 cups (375–500 ml) milk, slightly warmed • 1 tsp (5 ml) dried Italian herbs 11⁄2 cups (375 ml) grated Cheddar cheese
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 180 °C and grease an ovenproof dish.
Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to the boil over high heat. Stir in a few sheets of lasagne at a time. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until it has cooked through but is still firm to the bite, about 8–10 minutes. Drain in a colander.
WHITE SAUCE: Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour and stir until the mixture becomes paste-like and light golden brown, about 5 minutes. Gradually whisk half of the milk into the flour mixture and allow to bubble over medium heat. Cook and stir until the mixture is thick and smooth, 10–15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining milk, dried herbs and half the cheese.
In a bowl combine the tuna, mixed vegetables, garlic and lemon juice.
Spread a thin layer of white sauce onto the base of the prepared dish, followed by a layer of lasagne sheets. Spread half the tuna mixture over the lasagne sheets. Repeat the tuna layering, finishing with the remaining herb sauce on top. Sprinkle over the rest of the cheese.
Bake in the oven for 30–35 minutes. Change the oven setting to grill and allow the lasagne to brown for 2–3 minutes.
CHEFS TIP
Busy week cheat: if you need to make the lasagne really quickly, use ready-made creamed spinach instead of making the white sauce from scratch.