Lasagne rosa with mozzarella and parmesan

A traditional lasagne cooked without white or béchamel sauce.

This recipe was given to us by a lovely italian lady who likes cooking it in a tierra negra roasting tray. We were interested to see that she does not use any white or béchamel sauce. Her instructions call for making a slightly “watery” tomato sauce in order to create the moisture needed.

Mozzarella and parmesan cheese are sprinkled over every layer of lasagne, providing moisture as well as plenty of flavour for this mouth-watering dish.

Cooking time: 1h cooking the sauce
Cooking time: 45 min cooking the lasagne
Serves: 8

Ingredients:

600g lean minced beef
600g lasagne sheets
4 x 500g cartons of passata
250ml water and vegetable stock
600g grated mozzarella cheese
200g grated Parmesan cheese
Dried mixed herbs
Butter
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Make the tomato sauce:
Place a deep casserole over high heat. Once hot, tip in all the minced beef. Stir with a wooden spatula until any lumps of mince have been broken down. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Pour in the passata and sprinkle on the herbs, cover with the lid and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the stock and with the lid on, cook gently for an extra 30 minutes. At this point it is important to check that the sauce is not thick but quite “runny”. Season the sauce with salt and pepper and take off the heat.

Prepare the roasting tray by coating the inside with a thin layer of butter.

1st layer: Spread enough sauce to cover the bottom of the tray evenly.
2nd layer: Place a single layer of lasagne sheets over the sauce.

3rd layer: Pour more tomato sauce over the lasagne.

4th layer: Scatter on a handful of grated mozzarella, a few pieces of butter and handful of grated parmesan.

Repeat the process as shown in the four photos above: Spread on another layer of tomato sauce, add a layer of lasagne and then more tomato sauce followed by a generous sprinkling of butter and grated cheeses.
Keep on alternating the lasagne sheets and tomato sauce, cheese and butter until
your sauce runs out or you are close to the top of the roasting tray.

The last layer of lasagne sheets should be well covered with tomato sauce, especially at the sides of the tray. Sprinkle on the remaining cheese. Pour a little olive oil over the cheese just before taking the tray to the oven.

Cover the roasting tray with aluminium foil and bake in the oven at Gas mark 4 or 180 ˚C (Fan 160˚C) for 30 minutes. Remove the aluminium foil and bake for a further 15-20 minutes or until the top is crisp and golden brown.

The tomato sauce was cooked on the hob in a CL 434 deep round tierra negra casserole. The lasagne was baked in the oven in a CL 457 tierra negra roasting tray.