Chicken & Vegetable Lasagna Recipe

This is one of my favourite recipes for Lasagna, I’ve tweaked it a fair bit from the original recipe so that it is cheaper and healthier. It’s very easy to prepare and easily will serve 4-6 people with leftovers for the next day….and trust me, the leftovers always taste better.

Here’s a list of the ingredients and you’ll need to buy ahead of making this;

Main Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons of Olive Oil
• 1 large onion
• 2 carrots
• 2 zucchini
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 500g (1lb) of chicken mince (you can also use lean beef)
• 2 x 400g (13oz) cans of crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup (4fl oz) chicken or beef stock
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 375g (12oz) instant or fresh lasagna sheets

• 1/3 cup (1 1/4 oz) corn flour
• 3 cups (24fl oz) skim milk
• 100g reduced fat cheese

Finely chop the onion, carrot and zucchini, once that’s completed heat the olive oil in a medium to large sauce pan or frying pan and add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes until the onion is soft. Now add in the carrot and zucchini and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the vegetables are reasonably soft, make sure you keep stirring otherwise the carrots will stick. Crush the garlic with a garlic press and add to the pan, about a minute later you’re ready to add in the mince which will need to be cooked on the high heat until it’s well browned.

Once the mince is browned you can now add in the cans of crushed tomatoes, the beef stock, tomato paste and dried oregano. Stir well to combine all these ingredients, and bring the mixture to boil. Allow the mixture to boil for about a minute or 2 then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cover the sauce pan for about 20 minutes. Remember to give the mixture a stir every 4-5 minutes so it doesn’t stick.

Preheat your oven to 180 C, or around 350 F.

Now that the mixture in the sauce pan is ready it’s time to start assembling the lasagna. Spread a little of the meat sauce into the base of a large-ish (23×30cm) oven proof dish. Arrange a layer of lasagna sheets in the dish, you can break them if they’re not the same size as your dish, then add a layer of the meat sauce over the top to cover it evenly. Cover with another layer of lasagna sheets, a layer of meat sauce, and then finally another layer of lasagna sheets.

Now we’re going to make the cheese sauce, time to concentrate!

Blend a little of the milk with the corn flour to make a smooth paste in a small sauce pan. Over a low heat add in the rest of the milk bit by bit, stirring constantly, until the mixture boils and thickens. Take the pan off of the heat and add in the grated cheese giving it a good stir while it’s melting. Once all the cheese is melted pour the cheese sauce mixture over the top of the lasagna and bake it in the oven for about an hour.

If you find the top browning too quickly put some aluminum foil over the top of it, remember to take it off with around 15 minutes to go so that the top browns up nice and evenly.

I like to serve it with a light salad of rocket leaves, red onion and feta cheese, with a couple of slices of garlic bread and maybe even a little bit of parmesan cheese grated finely on the top.Hope you give this recipe a try, and even more so I hope you enjoy it.