Beef it up

Entrepreneur Swati Gupta shares a beef lasagna recipe that she whips up for her husband

Ingredients

250g packet instant lasagna sheets Half cup grated mozzarella cheese Half cup freshly grated cheddar and some parmesan cheese Half cup cream For the cheese sauce: 60g butter Half cup plain flour 2 cups milk 1 cup freshly grated cheddar cheese Salt and pepper to taste For the meat sauce: 1 tbsp olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, crushed 500g beef mince Tomatoes 1 tbsp oregano and ground basil

Method Preheat oven to 180°C. Brush a shallow ovenproof dish with melted butter or oil, line with lasagna sheets – breaking them to fill any gaps. Set aside. To make cheese sauce, melt butter in a medium pan. Add flour and then gradually add milk, stirring until it’s smooth. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until sauce boils and thickens. Reduce heat, keep simmering and add cheese, salt and pepper. Stir well until combined and set aside. To make the meat sauce, heat oil in a large pan. Add onion and garlic and stir over low heat. Add mince and cook until brown. Stir in undrained, crushed tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper. Bring to boil and reduce heat and let it simmer for about half an hour. Spread the meat sauce over lasagna sheets, top with one-third of the cheese sauce, arranging a layer of lasagna sheets on top. Continue layering, finishing with lasagna sheets, cheese and cream on top. Bake for 45 minutes. You can make this with chicken or only vegetables if you’re a vegetarian.