Lead image for The perfect lasagna recipe to light up your weekend.
Most foods are best enjoyed fresh, but lasagna plays by its own rules. Many swear it tastes even better the next day. But why take anyone’s word for it when you can test that theory yourself?
Clare Karatu, self-taught home cook and host of NTV’s Pishi Bomba, shares a quick and easy lasagna recipe guaranteed to trigger that little happy dance we all do when food hits exactly the right spot.
Ingredients (Serves 4–5)
Lasagna sheets (pre-boiled in salted water for about five minutes)
- Cooking oil
- 1 large white onion, chopped
- 600g minced meat
- 7 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp grated ginger (optional)
- 3 tomatoes, crushed
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp oregano
- Salt to taste
- Fresh basil
- ¼ cup salted butter
- 3 tbsp flour
- 400g mozzarella cheese, grated
- 250g cheddar cheese, grated
- 500ml milk
- 1 tbsp sugar
Pour oil into a hot pan and add the chopped onions. Do not brown them; you want them soft and translucent.
As the onions cook, add the raw minced meat. Ms Karatu advises against boiling the meat beforehand.
“Minced meat is already ground, so you do not need to worry about softness. You still want that chew in the texture. If you boil it, you lose a lot of flavour,” she explains.