Christmas #3 Lasagna

Dec. 29 2010: My mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law and niece came over for Christmas #3. I figured everyone was ready for a break from holiday fare so I made Jamie's Bolognese sauce (pg. 165) and used that to make his lasagna (pg. 169). I served it with the Mediterranean chopped salad (pg.123) on the side.

I will definitely be making this one again. I talked to my dad today, almost a week later, and he said he's still thinking about it. In addition to being quite memorable and tasty, it also looked amazing on the dining room table. When I put it down, everyone said, "It looks just like the picture!" All of the kids liked it too, a huge plus. Also nice is the fact that it was pretty simple to make which is great when you have a house full of company including toddlers pushing grocery carts through the kitchen and remote control fire trucks bumping into your toes.
I hope you'll give it a try.
Recipes cooked: 104
Recipes left: 69
Days left: 66

Here's the lasagna recipe, with some notes.

(for chopped salad, see recipe and info below the lasagna recipe)



Jamie Oliver’s Lasagna – Food Revolution
Serves 4-6 (or more, we had 6 adults, 3 kids and still one piece left over)

For the Bolognese sauce:
- 2 slices of smoked bacon, preferably free-range or organic (it never occurred to me to add bacon to lasagna, the flavor just this little bit of bacon adds is amazing!)

- 2 medium onions

- 2 cloves of garlic

- 2 carrots

- 2 celery stalks

- olive oil 

- 2 heaping teaspoons of dried oregano

- 1 pound of high quality ground beef or pork or mixture of two (I used all ground beef)

- 2 14 oz. cans of diced tomatoes

- sea salt and pepper

- fresh basil

- 2 oz of Parmesan cheese (I was nervous because I ran out of cheese but there was plenty and it tasted great. Be sure to leave enough to make a pretty top)
For the lasagna:
- 8 oz dried egg lasagna sheets (I used 365 brand No Boil sheets, and they worked great)

- 2 cups of creme fraiche or thick sour cream
 (I used sour cream)
- 4 oz of Parmesan cheese (For future, I’ll cut that in half)

- 1 large ripe tomato, sliced

- 4-6 basil leaves

To make the bolognese sauce:
Finely slice the bacon and chop up the onions, garlic, carrots, and celery into small dice. Place a large casserole-type pan on medium to high heat and add 2 lugs of olive oil, bacon and dried oregano – cook until bacon is lightly golden.
Add veggies to the pan and stir every 30 seconds for around 7 minutes or until softened and lightly colored. Stir in the ground meat and canned tomatoes.
Fill one of the tomato cans with water and add to pan (I either need to get a bigger pan or I might not add the extra water next time. The tomatoes came with a lot of juice and my pan was close to overflowing
Stir in a good pinch of salt and pepper. Pick the basil leaves off and put in fridge for later. Finely chop the basil stalks and stir into pan. Bring to boil. Turn the heat down and simmer with lid on for 45 mins, stirring a couple times.

To finish the sauce:
Preheat oven to 375. Remove the Bolognese sauce from heat. Finely grate 2 oz of Parmesan into the sauce. (For future, I will not add cheese here)
Tear and stir in any larger basil leaves, keeping smaller ones aside for top. Taste sauce and add more salt and pepper if needed.

To make the lasagna:
Grate 4 oz of Parmesan. If you don’t use No Boil sheets, boil some water in a pan, then add the lasagna sheets with a drizzle of olive oil and blanch (slightly soften) for 3-4 minutes. Drain sheets and carefully pat dry with paper towel to absorb excess water. Spoon a third of the Bolognese sauce into the bottom of a ovenproof dish.
Follow with a layer of lasagna sheets. Dollop a third of the sour cream and smooth over the lasagna sheets. Sprinkle one third of the Parmesan cheese.
Add another layer of sauce and repeat with sheets and cheese, ending with sour cream and Parmesan on top layer.
Top the creme and Parmesan with sliced tomatoes and small basil leaves, drizzle with olive oil. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. After that, remove the foil and bake for 35 more minutes until the lasagna is bubbling and golden. (I placed on a baking sheet in case of bubbling over)

As for the chopped salad…confession….my dad did most of the chopping. I supervised though and the end result is that I've decided I need a bigger cutting board if I am ever to make it again. Here's the recipe…

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegeterian-recipes/mediterranean-chopped-salad-usa-version