Baked Lasagna with a Twist

You won't believe how fast-moving this recipe is the moment I took it out from the oven. 

My family love pasta and I am a pasta person myself. That explains why pasta packages are staple in our kitchen. We make most of our favorite weekend recipes out of it and Lasagna is just one of them.

Now this however, is not the usual meat-packed Baked Lasagna that you have probably seen on most video tutorials on YouTube or have done in your kitchen. Well, let's get down to the ingredients so you will know what I am talking about, shall we?

A pound pack or 18 lasagna sheets will yield two 13x9 baking dish. 

Lasagna Filling:

400g Ground Beef

3 Large finely diced Potatoes (the twist)

Grated Cheeses (Parmesan, Motzarella, Ricotta, Cheddar)

400g Tomato Sauce

250g Tomato Paste

1 tsp. Basil

1 tsp. Oregano

1 tsp. Garlic Powder

2 tbsp. Brown Sugar

Salt and Pepper to taste

Fresh or dried Parsley

Béchamel:

1/2 cup Salted Butter

1/2 cup Flour 

350 ml Evaporated or whole Milk

Parmesan Cheese

There may be a lot of standards and ideals that you can find over the internet on what specific ingredients to use and how to prepare this recipe. What we have here on the other hand, is still the same recipe but with modified ingredients according to the concept of setting it apart from the rest. Thus, the twist. 

Adding finely diced potatoes or other alternatives you think is possible is actually like hitting two birds with one stone. Not only it will add volume to your filling; it will also improve the nutritive element of the food that we prepare. And yes, we do the same thing with our other recipes too because remember, not all ingredients are readily available everywhere so alternatives always do come in handy. Other pantry essentials do come in hefty prices too (like chesses) depending on where you are situated in the world. I think that is primarily the reason why there are a lot of versions of every recipe there is and nothing is really wrong about it at all. Like what we always say - YOUR KITCHEN, YOUR BOSS!

So if you're up to trying what we have here, let's head on and get it done!

Let' do the marinara first...

In a large pan, sear the ground beef until it changes its color from reddish to brownish. Stir occasionally. Remove the excess oil from the pan then add the diced potatoes. Cover the pan and let it cook for a minute or two.

Add in tomato paste and sauce, some of the cheeses depending on how cheesy you wanted your filling to be and finally the spices and seasonings. Spare the parsley and most of the cheeses for later. Stir to combine all the ingredients and let it simmer. Stir for a bit, put the lid back on then set aside.

Now let's do the creamy white Béchamel...

This 4-ingredient part of the recipe is what will make the lasagna incredibly creamy.

In a sauce combine together salted butter, flour , milk and the parmesan cheese. Mix and then bring to simmer while constantly mixing using a whisk until we reach the desired consistency. Please note that all we need here is a creamy consistency. Then set it aside for a bit while we do the lasagna sheets.

How to cook the lasagna sheets?

Half fill a large pot with water. As soon as it starts to boil, soak the lasagna sheets for about 8-10 minutes over medium heat, stirring  occasionally to prevents the sheets from sticking to the sides. We don't want to really cook it through as there'll be plenty of time for that as soon as it goes to the oven later. 

From the pot, transfer the sheets to a cold water to stop the cooking process. Then, after a while, drain the sheets and a paper towel may be used to pat each lasagna sheet dry.

This time, we are finally ready to assemble. 

Lightly spread marinara sauce all over the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish/pan. Then assemble the first layer using three lasagna sheets. Generously top the first layer with the béchamel and this will be followed by the spreading of the marina sauce. Being generous is the key here.

Repeat this process for the second layer. On the third layer, however, we will do some switching. After the lasagna sheets is laid down, we will spread the marina sauce first and then the béchamel. At this point, we are going to shred some cheese (preferably quick melt, or mozzarella) all over the top and then sprinkle some fresh or dried parsley. 

After everything is put in place, we are now ready for the final step and that is the baking.  This time, our dish/pan has to go in the pre-heated oven at 150 degrees for about 30- 45 minutes.

I know this is going to excite you now but I have to halt you there for a few minutes to allow this thing to cool down before finally digging in to it.

So, there you go...our LASAGNA WITH A TWIST! 

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