My non-fancy lasagne

I wasn't going to write up this recipe because I don't think of it as particularly fancy and didn't think anyone would be that interested in it, but then I thought, everyone wants to know a good lasagne recipe (don't they?).  It is kind of a mash up of a few recipes I have read over the years and one of the few things I can make without reading instructions.  I basically wing it everytime.  

I am a sucker for comfort food, although I pretend to other people I enjoy salads more (I do love salads, but not as much as lasagne, or chicken pie, or sausage and mash), and is there anything more delightful as making your own bechemal sauce?  Especially when you can lick the spoon afterwards (and during, don't tell my family).

The good thing about the meat sauce is you can boil up some spaghetti and turn it into spag bol, or you could mash up some potatoes and turn it into cottage pie.  I use the same recipe for all of them!

Lasagne

Serves 4 large portions or 6 smaller

- 500g beef mince

- 2 rashers of bacon, sliced (today I actually used 2 good quality pork sausages because I didn't have any bacon and it tasted really good)

- Dried lasagne sheets (about 9)

- 1 clove of garlic, minced

- 2 small white onions, diced

- 1 tin chopped tomatoes

- 2 tbsp tomato puree

- 1 tbsp sugar

- 300ml chicken stock

- 1 red chilli, deseeded and diced

- 1 glass of red wine

- 100g butter

- 100g flour

- 1 litre milk

- grating of nutmeg

- 80g parmesan cheese, plus extra for grating over the top of the lasagne

- 2 tbsp oil

Method

- Turn your oven on to 180c/350f/gas mark 4 

- Put a high sided large frying pan on a medium heat and add the oil, garlic and chilli, saute for a minute then add the onion

- cook the onion until softened then add the bacon (or sausage meat) fry for a minute or so then add the mince

- Brown mince all over the add the tinned tomatoes, stir through then add the tomato paste

- Add the wine, the stock and the sugar, allow to simmer until the sauce has reduced to a thicker consistancy, about 15 mins

- Whilst the meat sauce is reducing you can start the white sauce, melt the butter over a medium heat in a medium saucepan then add the flour and stir with a whisk until the flour has incorporated into the butter, gradually add the milk, continuously stirring until you can no longer taste the flour in the sauce, add more milk if you need to.

- Once the milk has been stirred in and you had a lovely thick consistancy turn the heat off then add the cheese and stir through, then add a good grating of nutmeg, to your taste.  Set to one side.

- By now the meat sauce should have reduced, season to taste

- Get a roasting/baking dish, mine is 11 inches by 8 inches and it filled it to the top, put a bit of the white sauce on the bottom and then line the dish with lasagne sheets

- Put the meat sauce on then cover with another layer of lasagne sheets

- Cover the lasagne sheets with the white sauce then a final layer of meat sauce, then another layer of lasagne sheets

- On the final layer cover completely with the white sauce then a good grating of parmesam, really cover it well, I like to also slice a tomato thinly and place the slices on top (the only fancy thing about the dish)

- Put on the middle shelf of the oven and cook for 35 - 40 mins, until the top is golden and bubbling

Cauliflower Soup & #blueberrygate

There are few things that get me through an 8am start at work like granola with yoghurt and blueberries.  It has consistently been my favourite breakfast since I first discovered this JO recipe a couple of months ago.  So imagine my surprise, no, horror when I went to the fridge to find the empty packet staring me in the face, like a black void with no blueberries to be found.  I actually said 'no' out loud, convinced this wasn't my packet... but oh yes, dear readers, it was.  And shall I tell you how I knew they had been dropped and not eaten?  There were still blueberries on the floor.  At least have the decency to cover your tracks!

I am going to try my hardest to get over what I feel is a personal attack, but to be honest the only thing keeping me chipper is the thought of going home and making this cauliflower soup tonight.

I have been a long time reader of The Smitten Kitchen, I read her blog basically every day in awe of how someone could make me want to eat pretty much anything she cooks.  Even cabbage soup. Seriously.

On the subject of soups, I have been going on a sort of soup frenzy recently.  By frenzy I mean I have been obsessed with Pret's ham hock soup (consumed at least once a week) and have willingly opted for the soup option in restaurants over the new years period whilst in Edinburgh.

I don't know about you lot, but one of my absolute favourite things to do with soup is butter up a generous portion of French stick, tear it into little pieces and submerge it.  The French stick soaks up the extra juice so the soup turns really thick and soul satisfying.

I am also a big fan of cauliflower.  I like it boiled, cheesed, roasted, anyway you can think of probably.  I like it so much I nearly didn't mention the Korean fried cauliflower I had at Bar Social with my man-friend for our one year anniversary for fear you will all run out to try it and there will be a national shortage of cauliflower.

So basically cauliflower + soup = :)    

Cauliflower Soup 

Serves 4 

- One head of cauliflower

- Two tbsp of extra Virgin olive oil 

- One small onion, chopped

- 2 cloves of garlic, minced

- 1 litre of chicken stock

- Half a cup of grated Parmesan 

- Salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Optional: I added half a teaspoon of lazy chilli because I like to put chilli in everything

Method

- Remove the leaves and cut off the thick core, roughly chop and set aside

- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and add the onions and garlic and chilli if using, cook on a medium heat until softened but not browned, about 5 mins

- Add the cauliflower and stock and bring to the boil, simmer for about 15 mins or until the cauliflower is soft and falling apart

- Remove from heat and blend until smooth (my hand held blender actually broke today of all days, I had to use a potato masher, let's just say things got a bit messy) 

- Return the blended soup to the pan and stir through the Parmesan 

- Season to taste