This recipe is part 3 of the 3 part recipes that I always make at the same time.

Click HERE for the Eggplant Parmigiana Recipe

Click HERE for Moussaka Recipe

So this is just a basic lasagna. I find that if you make this, then cook it the next day it always tastes better, There is something about the flavours of Italian food that are so much better the next day! This is why I love making lasagna, then freezing it before cooking, as after defrost and cooking, it is just that extra bit of delicious!

Any sauces that are  left over (including white), are put into a pot with chopped up cooked eggplant that is left, and any chopped up vegetables I have in the fridge that need cooking and this is mixed cooked and poured over some fresh pasta and you have a meal for that night and three others ready to go when you want them! You have to like that!

BUT, if you just want to make a yummy lasagna, then this is a basic recipe. Sometimes I add bacon, sometimes I use up those mushrooms that have dehydrated in the brown paper bag at the bag of the fridge that I have forgotten about. Really, you can put what ever you like in your Meat (bolognese) Sauce, this is just what I do!

Ingredients – Meat Sauce (Bolognese) 

1.5 – 2 kg of Beef Mince or Beef and Pork

2 Onions

4 Cloves Garlic

1 Tablespoon (20g) Olive Oil

20g Butter

Fresh Herbs or Dried Mixed Herbs

1 Zucchini

1 Carrot

700g Passata

400g Tin Tomatoes

100g Water

2 Teaspoons Salt

2 Teaspoons Sugar

Pepper to taste

1 – 2 Packets of Fresh Lasagna Sheets

500g Mozzarella, Grated

250 Parmesan Cheese, Grated

Ingredients – White Sauce

150g Butter

80g Plain Flour

1000ml (g) Full Cream Milk

This is quite a runnyish white sauce, but it thickens on cooling and you will cook it again in the lasagna and it help keep the lasagna soft and squishy.

Method – Meat Sauce

1. Place oil and butter into a large pot, and add in finely chopped onions and garlic and sauté until tender.

2. Add in mince, grated zucchini and carrot, then stir until almost cooked.

Make sure you break up the mince when cooking so you don’t get big lumps in your meat sauce.

3. Add in herbs, passata (rinse out the pasta bottle with the water you are going to use), tin tomatoes, water, salt, pepper and sugar and gentle simmer until tomato sauce reduces, about 60 minutes.

Method – White Sauce

1. Melt butter on a low heat in a saucepan and add flour, then mix until there are no lumps and the flour has cooked out approximately 2 – 3 minutes.

2. In another pan, warm the milk so it will be the same temperature when adding to the rue (butter flour mixture).

3. Add about 200ml of the warmed milk and whisk so that no lumps form, then add the rest of the warmed milk stirring as you go, until it thicken and coasts the back of a spoon.

Go to Making up the Lasagna, after the Thermomix version.

This recipe has been made in both the TM31 and TM5 the only difference is the amount of meat that needs to be placed into the Varoma.

Method – Meat Sauce

1. Place onions and garlic into mixing bowl and chop 3 seconds/speed 6, then scrape down the sides of the bowl.

2. Add butter and oil and sauté, 4 minutes/Varoma/speed 1.

3. Place roughly chopped zucchini and carrot into the mixing bowl and chop 5 seconds/speed 5, then scrap down the sides of the bowl.

4. Add in passata, tin tomatoes and water (rinse out the pasta bottle with the water) and gently place the mixing basket into the mixing bowl.

5. Place about 500g – 750g of mince into the basket and the rest into the bottom of the Varoma.

If you want to make extra meat, always pop it in the bottom of the varoma and cook at the same time. It is a great way to add an extra 2 – 4 serves to a dish. Obviously you have to put the lid on the Varoma, but I had to take it off to get a good photo! 🙂

6. Place the Varoma on top of the mixing bowl lid, with the lid on and cook 30 minutes/Varoma/speed 1.

7. Using the spatula lift the mixing basket out of mixing bow and allow to drain a little. Tip the contents of the basket into a ThermoServer or large bowl and using a spatula or fork,  break up the mince. Place the cooked mince from the Varoma also into the ThermoServer or large bowl, as well and break up as much as you can.

8. While you are doing this, cook the red sauce for another 20 minutes/speed 2 with the dirty mixing basket on top of the lid instead of the MC.

9. Pour the rest of the sauce into the ThermoServer or large bowl and set aside ready to make up the lasagna.

Method – White Sauce

1. Place butter into the mixing bowl and melt 3 minutes/100/speed 1.

2. Add in flour and cook 3 minutes/100/speed 1.

3. Add in milk and cook 15 minutes/100/speed 4, with the measuring cup on.

Remember this is not a very thick white sauce as it doesn’t need to be for lasagna, just creamy!

Making up the Lasagna

1. Place a sparse layer of meat sauce on the bottom of the pan then cover with lasagna sheets.

It doesn’t matter if the sheets overlap.

2. Place a layer of MEAT SAUCE, then WHITE SAUCE, then sprinkle with mozzarella and then fill in the gaps with parmesan.

3. Place another layer of pasta and continue with a layer of MEAT SAUCE, then WHITE SAUCE then CHEESES until container is full.

4. Bake in a preheated oven of 180°C for 45 minutes until all the cheese has melted and it is golden brown!

Serve with a nice fresh salad and eat. If you want to freeze it, I find that it is always better to freeze it before cooking then defrost and cook!

Don’t forget that here at the Mother Hubbard’s Kitchen, we don’t waste anything, so make sure you put everything that is left into a pot and pour it over some freshly cooked pasta for a 4th yummy meal!

I hope you have enjoyed my 3 recipe series of things I cook at the same time to save time, money and mess. If you have any suggestions or maybe you have cook ups where you cook lots of things at the same time, don’t forget to drop me a line and let my know!

Enjoy Irresponsibly

Liz xx

If you like this recipe maybe you might like to try these?

Moussaka (Thermomix Version Included)

Eggplant Parmigiana (Thermomix Version Included)

Chicken Carbonara (Thermomix Method Included)

Chicken and Vegetable Lasagna (Thermomix Method Included)

Elizabeth Connolly

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I have been cooking since I can remember. I am a Thermomix consultant, so now (whenever possible) try to give you Conventional AND Thermomix methods for the recipes. I like to share tips on how to save money and how making food from scratch isn't really that hard (especially with a Thermomix). If you have any questions about the Thermomix or cooking/food in general please email me as I'm happy to chat.
Liz xx
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