Budget lasagne
This is a pared-down, cheap and cheerful lasagne, easy to jazz up with your own choice of fillings or a grating of cheese on top. This is designed to be a low cost recipe.
In November 2023, this recipe was costed at an average of £6.38 when checking prices at four UK supermarkets. It is designed to be made in conjunction with a low-cost store-cupboard.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 250g/9oz beef mince
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 carrots, grated
- 75²µ/2½´Ç³ú butter
- 75²µ/2½´Ç³ú plain flour
- 1 tsp English mustard
- 750ml/1â…“ pint milk
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 x 400g tin tomatoes
- 250g/9oz lasagne sheets
- salt and pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the mince to the hot oil with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Brown the mince for 5-6 minutes until coloured all over and beginning to crisp. Remove the mince from the pan and set aside.
Add the onion and carrot to the frying pan along with a pinch of salt. Cook gently for 10 minutes, or until everything is softened.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Once melted, add the flour and mustard, stir to mix well. Leave to cook over a medium heat for 2 minutes, or until the mixture makes a paste.
Pour the milk in batches into the saucepan, whisking as you add to create a smooth white sauce. Once all the milk is added, season with a pinch of salt and black pepper, turn the heat down and leave to simmer very gently for 7 minutes.
Once the onions and carrots are softened, add the garlic to the frying pan and cook for 2 minutes. Return the meat and any juices to the pan and add the tomatoes. Mix everything together, cover with a lid and simmer the sauce for 10 minutes until thickened slightly.
To assemble the lasagne, place a quarter of the tomato sauce into the bottom of a small/medium baking dish. Top with a layer of lasagne sheets. Spoon over another quarter of the tomato sauce and top with a third of the white sauce. Repeat this twice more, finishing at the top with the last layer of white sauce. (You should have three sets of layers of lasagne, tomato and white sauce, all on a bed of tomato sauce.)
Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbling and the top is golden-brown. Serve the lasagne in slices while hot.
