Lasagne ( beef, roasted butternut and spinach)

 


My older one loves lasagne and even requested one on his birthday but back then in February, we were having another surge in COVID cases and we were unable to get some lasagne sheets and ground beef. 

On a trip to one of the major supermarkets, I discovered some nice ground beef and bought it to make some lasagne. 

I had some butternut squash at home, I have learned to buy vegetables that survive longer and butternut is one vegetable.  I roasted the butternut as Jamie Oliver did for his Lasagne recipe in his book Jamie's Dinners.  But I wanted to add another vegetable and wondered what would go well with butternut so made a spinach layer. The supermarket next door had some frozen spinach so I  thawed some and used that to make a second layer of the lasagne. 


The result is this delicious lasagne that isn't all too beefy as the vegetable layer balances it well. I think you can replace the beef with ground lamb or mutton which also goes well with the vegetables used. 

This is not an easy dish to make and is slightly pricey but it is the kind of meal you want to make for a special day or for a small dinner crowd in your small bubble. I am not encouraging big crowds yet.

The key to making this is to be organised. Thaw the beef and spinach in the fridge the night before roast the butternut the day before and store it in the fridge. 

Make the ragu first, then the white sauce and finally the spinach sauce.  Layer the lasagne, and let it sit on the countertop for 30 minutes so the sauces soften the pasta sheets a bit you can even make this earlier during the day, pop it in the fridge and then bake it one and a half to 2 hours earlier before serving to your family.  A warm lasagne is better than a piping hot one as it tends to burn your mouth and the layers ooze out, So once baked let it settle another 20 minutes before serving.


Yield: 6
Author: Nammi

Lasagne

Prep time: 2 Hours Cook time: 45 mins  Total time: 2 hours 45minutes

Ingredients

Roasted Butternut squash
  • Small butternut squash
  • 2-3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
  • 1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs
  • salt 
Beef Ragu
  • 400g ground beef
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 50g carrot, finely chopped
  • 1 can peeled tomatoes
  • 2 tsp tomato paste
  • 1tsp dried mixed herbs ( or use dried oregano)
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil
  • 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
  • 1/2 tsp dried red chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/2 chicken or beef stock cube
  • salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 2-3 tbsp olive oil
Bechamel sauce or white sauce
  • 30g butter
  • 30g flour
  • 3 cups milk
  • pinch nutmeg
  • salt
  • pepper
  • about 16 sheets of dried lasagne sheets
  • a mixture of grated mozzarella cheese, cheddar and parmesan cheese or use a bag of grated pizza cheese mix.
  • extra dried herbs and chilli flakes for the top
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
Spinach layer
  • 150 g frozen spinach or use 1 bag of fresh baby spinach 
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1/4 tsp chilli flakes
  • a pinch of grated nutmeg
  • salt and pepper
  • 2-3 ladles of the white sauce


Instructions

Roasted butternut
  1. Don't peel the butternut. Cut in half and scoop out the seeds. 
  2. Cut into bite-size pieces. 
  3. Place in a bowl, add olive oil, chilli flakes , dried herbs and salt. Mix well and arrange this in a  baking tray in a single layer.
  4. Pop into a preheated oven at 180 Degrees C for 45mins. 
  5. Remove and set aside. 
  6. ( you can make this a few days ahead, once cool store in an airtight container in the fridge)
Beef Ragu
  1. Heat a large deep frying pan with oil and add saute the onions, garlic, and carrots until they start to soften. 
  2. Add the ground beef and spread it out on the pan and then stir fry on high heat and once it starts to colour, lower the heat and add the chilli flakes, chilli powder, pepper powder, 1/2 tsp salt, dried herbs, fresh basil and the tomato paste. Stir it through and then stir in the can of tomatoes.
  3. Fill the can of tomatoes with water and add this into the pan. Crumble the stock cube into the pan.
  4. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or so until the sauce reduces. Stir occasionally during cooking, breaking the tomatoes to a pulp. 
  5. Taste add sugar, adjust salt.  Cook until the sauce is reduced to a thick sauce with little liquid.
  6. Set aside.
White sauce /Bechamel
  1. In a small saucepan, melt butter. Once the butter melts, add the flour (sifted) and stir quickly to mix into the butter. 
  2. Stir in milk  , stirring as you add, so the flour paste gets mixed into the milk and there are no lumps. 
  3. Cook on medium low heat stirring constantly with a whisk until the sauce starts to thicken. Season with salt, a pinch of pepper and nutmeg.  (don't add too much nutmeg as it can get overpowering)
  4. Cook another 1 minute, the sauce will thicken as it cools, taste and adjust salt.
Spinach
  1. Heat olive oil in a small frying pan, add garlic, and saute until you get the aroma of the garlic. Don't let it burn. 
  2. Stir in the thawed spinach of the fresh spinach and stir fry on medium-high heat. 
  3. Season with a little grating of nutmeg,  salt and pepper and chilli flakes. 
  4. Add 2-3 ladles of the white sauce and stir through and switch off the heat. 
Final, assembling and cooking the lasagne
  1. Take an 8x12 inch baking tray or oven-proof dish and drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil in the bottom.
  2. Preheat the oven to 200 Degrees C.
  3. Spoon a few ladles of the beef ragu in the bottom of the dish. 
  4. Then line with some lasagne sheets, about 3 and a half or 4 sheets. 
  5. Then add the remaining beef sauce, reserving 1 tbsp of the sauce in the pan. 
  6. Top the sauce with 2 ladles of white sauce and top with grated cheese.  ( white sauce tends to thicken as it cools if this happens mix in a little milk to thin it a bit)
  7. Then the second layer of lasagne sheets.
  8. Spoon the spinach sauce on top of the second layer.
  9. Then the roasted butternut pieces.  
  10. Then add a ladle of the white sauce and some more cheese.
  11. Then the final layer of lasagne sheets.  Mix the reserved ragu with the white sauce and spoon this on top of the final layer of pasta. Spread it out so that it covers the top layer completely. 
  12. Sprinkle with remaining cheese,  some dried herbs and chilli flakes. Cover with foil.
  13. Pop into the hot oven and bake for 45 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the foil and bake the remaining 15 minutes without the foil so the top becomes golden.
  14. Remove and cool for 15 to 20 minutes before serving with a nice big leafy salad. 
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Comments

  1. Great idea of using butternut and spinach in lasagne! I am not really crazy for vegetables, but I adore butternut and beef.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like the addition of squash in it, I haven't made lasagna with squash in it.

    ReplyDelete

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