I tend to run out of recipe ideas on Monday…who doesn’t? It seems that I do all my ‘pull out the stops’ cooking from Friday to Sunday. This weekend was a particularly big cooking weekend with Soweto TV shooting an episode of Kasi Kitchen on Saturday. This means lots of food….lots of feasting and a general slump in Monday’s cooking Morale.

For a while, I tried the Meat Free Monday option – this did not go down well with my family! The kids and I are seriously devout carnivores. So much for going green…we tried pizza night…sausage night but it was back to the hearty home cooked options die to the lack of enthusiasm from my audience.

Minced lamb, chicken or beef is perfect for a lazy day. With a few spices and the basics, it can be turned into a fuss free feast in a few minutes.

Rob and I are keeping with our Monday date night tradition – the kids are going to feast on this meaty lamb lasagne!

Just a few thoughts…I suggest using an AMC pot to cook the mince – you need to cook with a fantastic pot to get the mince browned beautifully. I add a good dose of red chilli powder to liven up this dish…if you are cooking for kids, you can leave this out.

For the non lasagne fans…you can try this mincy option – Layered lamb and mushrooms – click here: https://yudhikayumyum.com/2012/09/06/484/

Lasagne

Serves 6

250g lasagne sheets

For the mince:

50ml sunflower oil
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
100g chopped bacon
4 cloves garlic, crushed
10ml crushed ginger
5ml dried oregano
Few sprigs of fresh thyme
15ml hot paprika or red chilli powder
700g lamb mince
1 x 400g tin whole tomatoes, chopped
75ml tomato paste
1 stock cube, preferably beef or oxtail
Salt, to season, optional
Black pepper, to season

250ml grated cheddar, topping

To prepare the mince:

Heat the sunflower oil on medium in a 30cm AMC pot.
Fry the cinnamon stick and bay leaf.
Add the chopped onion, diced carrot and celery.
Add the bacon pieces and continue stirring.
When the bacon browns, stir in the crushed garlic, ginger, oregano, fresh thyme and then the paprika.
Add the lamb mince and stir until the meat browns.
Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and stock cubes.
Simmer until the mince is cooked through – it should not be too watery.
Check the seasoning before adding salt.
Season the mince with black pepper.

For the sauce:

Melt 100g butter and whisk in 100g cake flour.
Continue whisking on a low heat and then gradually add 950ml full cream milk.
Continue whisking until the sauce thickens and then add 5ml coarse salt to season.
Whisk 250ml grated cheddar into the sauce and check the seasoning.
Add 100ml fresh cream to the sauce and stir.

To assemble:
Place a layer of white sauce in a casserole dish.
Place a layer of lasagne sheets over the white sauce making sure the sheets do not overlap.
Layer the mince over the lasagne sheets and then add a layer of white sauce.
Continue the process and end with a layer of white sauce.
Sprinkle the grated cheese over the white sauce layer.
Leave the lasagne to stand at room temperature for 45 minutes to an hour.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 30 minutes.

Yudhika’s Tips:
You can use store-bought cheese sauce if you are short on time.
Use macon instead of bacon if you prefer.
Add chopped green chillies to the lamb mince for a spicier lasagne.
Beef mince can be used instead of lamb.