ODE TO POLLY’S LASAGNE

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This recipe has been canonised in our family. It is so good and so easy it feels like a trick: no bechamel, no Bolognese to make, simply fry up the sausagemeat, mix together the tomatoes, layer it up. Shared some eons ago by my sister Sam’s friend Polly, it was originally written for pork sausages: I’ve added fennel seeds here and extra garlic and chilli to give the meatless mince a kick up the bum. Best made the night before or at least a few hours in advance of cooking to give the pasta some time to soften in the juices.

Feeds 6

Ragu:

400g meatless mince (or 450g sausages, skins removed, or chEat with a mixture of both)

150g mushrooms, finely sliced or chopped

60ml olive oil

1/2 tbs fennel seeds, crushed

½ tsp chilli flakes

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tbs miso paste

300ml crème fraiche (the oatly one works well, too)

100g defrosted leaf spinach or fresh baby spinach

Tomato & thyme sauce:

1 tin chopped tomatoes

2 tbs sun-dried tomato paste or tomato paste

1 tsp brown sugar

1 tbs fresh thyme leaves

salt

6 sheets lasagne

75g strong cheddar

Salt & pepper

You will need a baking dish approx. 15x 25cmx5cm.

Heat half the olive oil in a large frying pan and add the mince, breaking it up and carefully frying till golden and crisping at the edges – this may take about 10 minutes. In a separate pan, fry the mushrooms till starting to colour. Add the chopped garlic, fry for another minute, then combine with the mince, stir through the miso, add the spinach and crème fraiche, salt and pepper. Warm through gently (if using fresh spinach, you want to it collapse), stirring, then set aside.

Stir together the tomato and thyme sauce. Layer both up with the lasagne sheets, starting with ragu, then tomato, then lasagne – you can be a bit vague and dollop it in. Finish with a layer of pasta, pushing it down into the sauce, then cover with cheese. Allow to sit for a couple of hours to soften.

When ready to cook, preheat oven to 200C. Bake for 25-30 mins until golden and bubbling.

 

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