Make Your Home Made Lasagna Healthier and Tastier than Any Gourmet Italian Restaurant Can

Lasagna front

Lasagna side

I recently looked up the internet and found that the keyword “healthy lasagna recipes”, despite appearing to be an oxymoron, is actually quite a popular search term.

But how can lasagna be really healthy?

My short answer: because of its wonderful, mouth-watering taste that makes you happy and because being happy is more than half way to being healthy.

In the recipe below, I’ve tried my best to reduce the amount of butter and oil from the levels traditionally used for this dish.

Nevertheless, any lasagne would still bristle with all the bug bears which dieticians rail against:  red meat, egg, oil, butter, cheese, you name it.

There is a healthy part, however, which comes from onions, garlic, tomatoes, and cinnamon.

Another caveat: This recipe does exceed my “jiffy” limit of 30 minutes. So this may just be the perfect thing for the weekend when you feel the urge to indulge yourself by having something different.

Warning: If you follow the instructions carefully, you may be surprised to find that your Lasagna beats the taste of the Lasagna made in your next door Gourmet Italian Restaurant.

Ingredients

Minced Chicken/Lamb-200 grams (7oz) (1 cup)

Finely Chopped Onion-1

Garlic Cloves Crushed-4

Fresh Ripe Tomatoes-2

Tomato Puree-1/2 cup

Cinnamon Stick-1 inch piece

Sugar-1/2 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Cooking Oil-2 tablespoon

Lasagna sheets-2

For the Béchamel Sauce:

Wheat flour–1 tablespoon

Milk-250 ml (1 cup; at room temperature)

Cheese Cheddar-25 grams (1oz) (1 tablespoon)–grated

Butter-1 teaspoon

Egg (beaten)-1

Salt and Pepper to taste

Method

Put the lasagna sheets in hot water so that they soften up.

Now, get the mince ready:

Add 2 tablespoon oil in the pan.

As soon as the oil heats up, add the onion and the garlic and gently fry until the chopped onions become golden.

Now add the minced lamb/chicken and sauté till the mince become dry and well roasted.

Now add the chopped tomatoes and the tomato puree along with the cinnamon stick and salt.

Again, let the mixture cook till dry.

Next, make the béchamel sauce:

Switch on your heat source and put a pan on it.

Add a tablespoon of butter to the pan and let it melt.

As the butter melts, add the flour.

Gently mix/sauté the flour with the butter making sure that the flour DOES NOT turn brown.

Switch off the heat source and let the mixture cool down.

When the mixture comes to room temperature, gently add the milk (also at room temperature) and mix well to ensure that no lumps are formed.

Return this to your heat source.

Add the cheese, the beaten egg and a bit of salt.

As soon as the mixture thickens, your béchamel sauce is ready.

In a baking dish, place a sheet of lasagna and cover it with half the mince.

Pour half the béchamel sauce on top of this and cover with another sheet of lasagna.

Repeat once more.

Pre-heat the oven at 180 degrees C (356 degrees F) and bake for about 15 minutes till

the dish turns golden and bubbling.

Enjoy your lasagna hot!

Prep time: 7 minutes

Cooking time: 35 minutes

Total time: 42 minutes

Note: You can save time by making the sauce while the lamb/chicken mince is cooking. You should also switch on your oven for pre-heating the moment you start.

[This Excerpt forms a part of my book: “Healthy Cooking In A Jiffy: The Complete No Fad, No Diet Handbook”.  Just to remind you that this book isavailable for just $0.99 (instead of the usual $3.04) on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk till 11 July 2014 (US Pacific Standard Time).]  

Use Facebook to Comment on this Post