Beef and cannellini bean lasagne

READY IN

70 minutes

COOKING TIME

40 minutes

PREP TIME

30 minutes

SERVES

6

INGREDIENTS

For the bolognese

250g beef mince, 5% fat 2 tsp olive oil

1 brown onion – diced 2 carrots – diced

2 sticks of celery – diced

1 red pepper

2 thyme sprigs – leaves picked

1 sprig of rosemary – leaves picked

100g mushrooms – chopped 2 cloves garlic – crushed 400g can chopped tomatoes 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 2 cans of cannellini beans

For the béchamel

500ml milk

1 small onion

2 cloves

1 bay leaf

50g margarine

50g plain flour

To assemble

6 oven-ready lasagne sheets

100g reduced-fat Cheddar

10g herbs to garnish – chopped parsley or basil, optional 200g mixed leaf salad

1. Heat a non-stick frying pan and fry the mince over a medium heat, stirring to break up any chunks, for about 8 mins, until browned all over. Set aside and wipe out the pan.

2. Reduce the heat and add

1 tsp oil. Then add the onion, carrots, celery, and red pepper and cook over a gentle heat, until softened – about 5 mins.

3. Add the herbs, mushrooms, garlic and cook for a few more minutes, until the mushrooms are browning.

4. Add the tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce, and cook for 15-20 mins, stirring occasionally to ensure it is not catching on the base of the pan.

5. Add the cannellini beans and gently stir through to combine.

6. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.

7. While the meat sauce is cooking, make the béchamel. Bring a pan of milk to the boil, along with the onion studded with the cloves, and bay leaf.

8. Once boiling, remove from the heat, and leave to infuse for 15 mins. Remove the onion, cloves and bay, and discard.

9. Melt the margarine in a pan, add the flour and stir continuously for a couple of minutes to form a paste. This forms your roux base.

10. Over a medium heat, slowly add the milk to the roux, stirring continuously until the sauce thickens – approx 5-8 mins.

11. Spoon half of the meat and bean base into an ovenproof dish, followed by a layer of lasagne sheets, breaking them to fit if necessary. Then add a layer of béchamel.

12. Repeat these layers, then finish with a final layer of lasagne sheets.

13. Pour over the last of the béchamel and sprinkle with the Cheddar.

14. Bake for 25-30 mins; sit the dish on top of a lined baking tray to catch any spills.

15. Leave to cool for 10 mins. Garnish with herbs, if using, and serve with a mixed leaf salad.