Sometimes the perfect end to a work week is a scrumptious meal .... and some meals are just more comforting than others .... like Lasagna ..... with it's layers of meat sauce, bechamel and al dente pasta topped generously with parmesan and mozzarella cheeses and baked to perfection. One slice of it and instantly the week is behind you and you can look forward to the weekend. Pair it with a salad and a glass of your favorite wine and it's a party already! This week was one of those fridays when I wanted to make lasagna for dinner but its easier said than done.

Lasagna is not one of those foods that I associate with being able to come back home from work and prepare. There are a few things though, that can help to make the process much faster. To begin with, the pasta itself ..... if you don't have the time, don't try to make pasta from scratch or even use the lasagna sheets you have to boil. Good quality instant lasagna sheets can be your best friend. For the meat sauce, I prefer to use ground pork as it cooks faster than beef - you can use ground chicken also. For the white sauce, I don't go through the process of making a standard bechamel. I have learnt to save myself the time and calories that come with a regular bechamel sauce. My white sauce recipe can be found here. I know that there will be folks who will absolutely disapprove of it but it works for me and I'll invite everyone who is watching their calories to give it a try. The key to making this sauce well is ensuring that you cook it thoroughly so there is no taste from the flour.

For the folks who are vegetarian, there are several options as well. Instead of the meat sauce, try the Mushroom Bolognese sauce - the rest is the same. Or you can make a tomato based sauce, add herbed grilled veggies to it for an extra kick or add chopped spinach to the white sauce to up the nutrition. There is no limit to how creative one can get with lasagna. One more note on this lasagna recipe is that this is the more traditional Italian way of making lasagna vs the American version with includes a ricotta cheese mixture in place of the white sauce.

Lasagna

Ingredients:

Meat Sauce

400 gms ground pork

1 bottle readymade pasta sauce (500g)

1/2 cup finely chopped onions

1/2 cup finely chopped carrots

1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper

3 cloves of garlic (grated)

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp fresh basil

salt to taste

black pepper to taste

1 tsp dried mixed herbs

White Sauce

4 tablespoons all purpose flour

700 ml fresh milk

salt to taste

black/white pepper to taste

2 slices cheese

Instant lasagna sheets

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Method:

1. To make the meat sauce, mix the ground pork with salt, pepper, garlic powder, mixed dried herbs and 1 tsp dried basil powder. Preheat a pan with 2 tsp of olive oil and add the meat mixture to it and brown lightly. Once, done, remove from the pan and set aside.

2. In the same pan, add 2 tsp of olive oil and add the chopped carrots, peppers, onion and grated garlic. Add a couple of pinches of salt and cook till the vegetables are tender.

3. Once the vegetables are soft, add the pork and cook for 2 minutes more. Then add the pasta sauce and 1 cup water. Cover and cook for 15 minutes over medium heat. Once done, check the sauce for doneness of the meat and season with more salt and pepper if needed.

4. While the meat sauce is cooking, in a pan, mix room temperature milk and flour. Use a whisk to mix very well to ensure there are no lumps. Put this mixture in a pan and boil of medium low heat till it thickens to the desired consistency. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper powder to taste, add a couple of slices of cheese to improve the taste and consistency of the sauce.

5. Spread some of the meat sauce on the bottom of a glass dish and cover with one layer of the pasta sheets. Spread a layer of the meat sauce and top it with another layer of the white sauce and cover with pasta sheets. To ensure a moist well cooked lasagna, you need to ensure that all sheets are covered well with the sauce.

6. Continue layering till all the pasta and sauce are used up. Ensure that the final layer is a sauce layer. Sprinkle the grated mozzarella and parmesan cheese on top to fully cover the top. Cover with a piece of aluminium foil to retain the moisture while cooking.

7. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 35 minutes. Then remove the foil and cook uncovered for another 10-15 minutes. Make sure that the pasta is cooked by testing with a knife. Let the lasagna rest for 10-15 minutes and serve hot.

Spinach Tomato and Feta Salad

Ingredients:

2 cups of baby spinach leaves.(washed and dried)

1 cup cherry tomatoes (cut into half)

1/2 cup danish feta cheese, cut into small cubes

2 tsp Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt to taste

Method:

In a bowl, add the spinach, tomatoes and feta cheese. Sprinkle with olive oil and sea salt. Toss gently to combine the ingredients and serve.