Jamie Oliver Lasagne

From the Kitchen of: loni andrus

Ingredients for Bolognese Sauce:

2 slices of smoked bacon

2 medium onions

2 carrots

2 celery stocks

Olive oil

2 heaped tsps. Dried oregano

1 lb. ground beef, pork, or (even better!) a mixture of the two

2x14 oz. cans of diced tomatoes

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fresh basil (I usually use dried)

Ingredients for the Lasagne

8 oz. dried egg lasagna sheets (I use more)

4 oz. parmesan cheese (I use more)

2 ½ cups of crème fraiche or 2 ½ cups thick sour cream (I use sour cream as I have

     no idea what the other ingredient is)

1 large ripe tomato, sliced

To make your Bolognese Sauce:

Finely slice the bacon - Peel and finely chop the onions, garlic, carrots and celery-don't worry about technique; just chop away-Place a large casserole type pan on a medium to high heat-Add 2 lugs of olive oil, your sliced bacon, and the oregano and cook and stir until the bacon is lightly golden-Add the vegetables to the pan and stir every 30 seconds for around 7 minutes or until softened and lightly colored-Stir in the ground meat and the canned tomatoes-Fill one of the empty cans with water and add to the pan-Stir in a good pinch of salt and pepper-Pick the basil leaves and place in the refrigerator for later-Finely chop the basil stalks and stir into the pan-Bring to a boil-Turn the heat down and simmer with the lid askew for 1 hour, stirring every now and again-Take the lid off and cook for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally-Keep an eye on the sauce as it cooks, and if you think its starting to dry out, add a splash of water

To finish the sauce:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees-Remove the Bolognese sauce from the heat-Tear and stir in any larger basil leaves, keep the smaller ones aside for later-Have a taste of the sauce, and season with a little more salt and pepper if you think it needs it-Boil some water in a kettle and pour it into a large pan, then add your lasagne sheets with a drizzle of oil and blanch (slightly soften) for 3 to 4 minutes-Drain the sheets in a colander and carefully pat them dry with some paper towels to absorb any excess water-Finely grate the parmesan and stir most of it through the sour cream

To make your lasagne:

Spoon a third of your bolognese sauce into the bottom of a 9 X 13 dish-Follow with a layer of lasagne sheets and another third of your bolognese sauce, then dollop over a third of your sour cream-Sprinkle with a good pinch of salt and pepper and top with another layer of lasagne sheets-Spoon over the rest of the bolognese sauce and another third of the sour cream-Finish with a final layer of lasagne sheets and top with the rest of the sour cream-Scatter over the remaining parmesan-Top with some slices of tomato, scatter over the small basil leaves and drizzle with olive oil-Cover with foil and back in preheated over for 30 minutes-After that, remove the foil and cook for a further 20 minutes until the lasagne is bubbling and golden

***This recipe is awesome! It’s so rich and delicious with the sour cream plus anytime I use ricotta in anything I hate the taste of it. Maybe it’s because I buy cheap ricotta but I still hate it. Sour cream is a great replacement and is so rich! Jason's only complaint about this recipe is that it’s not ooey gooey cheesy like most lasagne. If you like things cheesy you can throw some mozzarella into the layers.

The bolognese sauce takes a while to make so if you can double it and freeze it for another time! This recipe is really quite easy to make it just takes a little time.

** http://www.jennylovesfood.com/?p=368