Gluten Free Beef Lasagne Food

CLASSIC LASAGNE - GLUTEN FREE RECIPE

Steps:

• Finely dice the onion and chop the carrots into very small pieces. Finely chop the celery and green pepper too if you are including them. Place then all into a large non-stick saucepan or high-sided lidded frying pan with a small glug of olive oil. Cover with the lid and sweat for 15 minutes over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until everything has softened.
• Add the minced garlic and stir through, cooking for a couple of minutes until fragrant.
• Now break the beef mince into pieces and add to the pan, cooking over a medium-high heat until it is beginning to brown. Then add the finely chopped mushrooms if you are including them and cook until any excess liquid has evapourated.
• Add the dried herbs, tomato paste, crumbled beef stock cube and red wine. Cook until the wine has reduced.
• Crush the tinned plum tomatoes with your hands and add to the pan (you can use chopped instead if you wish, but whole plum tomatoes are generally better quality tomatoes and are skinless). Stir them through the meat along with the Hendersons relish and sugar, then leave the sauce to cook over a medium heat for at least 30 minutes, stirring regularly. The longer you can cook the sauce for the better, as it will help the flavours to develop (1 hour on a medium then low heat is ideal...or you can also make the sauce ahead of time and then let it sit with the lid on until needed).
• Season to taste with salt and pepper, then set aside while you prepare the other elements.
• Preheat the oven to 180C (fan) and ready a large oven dish - mine is 25cm x 30cm.
• My trick for gluten free lasagane sheets is to precook them slightly before adding them to the lasagne. I find otherwise they can cook unevenly and you might end up with hard crunchy patches. Take a large heatproof bowl and fill with boiling water. Place the lasagne sheets standing around the edge of the bowl so they are at least half covered by water, then soak for 3-4 minutes before turning them over to soften the entire sheet. You could also place them fully into the water, but be careful as they can get a bit stuck together. While the lasagne sheets are soaking you can make the white sauce.
• For the white sauce, at the butter and cornflour/gluten free flour to a medium non-stick pan and heat until the butter is melted. Use a small whisk or wooden spoon to mix the butter and flour into a roux (a thick paste) and allow to sizzle for a minute.
• Now add the milk in stages, about 150-200ml at a time, stirring well and keeping the pan over the heat. At each addition, stir the milk into the roux, then whisk/stir quite vigorously to ensure the sauce remains smooth and lump free. Once all the milk has been incorporated in this way, you should have a thick, smooth white sauce (if not thick yet, keep heating and stirring to thicken - if a bit lumpy, don't fret, give it a good stir but no one will notice any little lumps in the finally dish).
• Now to assemble the lasagne! Add a third of the meat sauce to the oven dish, spreading it out into a thin even layer. Cover with part-cooked lasagne sheets. Then top with one third of the white sauce. Repeat until you have three layers of meat sauce/lasagane sheets/white sauce.
• Top the lasagne with grated cheese, then bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Test the centre of the lasagne with a knife, to ensure the pasta is cooked through (if not, give it an extra 15 mins at 160C), then serve!

GLUTEN FREE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degree F. Spray a 9 x 13 - inch baking pan with oil; set aside.
• Cook noodles according to package; set aside. Skip this step if you're using oven ready gluten-free lasagna noodles.
• For the sauce: In a large saucepan cook beef, onion, and garlic until the meat is brown. Break the meat apart as it cooks.
• Add the un-drained tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, basil, oregano, salt and pepper and stir until combined.
• Bring the sauce to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• For the ricotta filling: combine the whisked egg, ricotta, Parmesan cheese, and dried parsley.
• To layer the gluten free lasagna: Spread a little sauce on the bottom of the pan. Add a layer of lasagna noodles over the sauce. Spread half the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Then spread half the sauce mixture over the noodles. Add the second layer of lasagna noodles, ricotta mixture, and sauce mixture. Top with shredded mozzarella.
• Place the lasagna pan on a baking sheet and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until heated through. If you're using oven-ready noodles, cover the lasagna with foil and bake for 40-45 minutes. Remove the foil, then bake an additional 10 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

GLUTEN-FREE BEEF LASAGNE

Steps:

• To make the Bolognese sauce, finely chop the carrots, onions, garlic and celery and add to a large, wide pan over a medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil. Roughly chop and add the bacon, then pick in the thyme leaves and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until softened and lightly golden.
• Turn the heat up slightly, then stir in the beef mince, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Cook for around 5 minutes, or until browned all over. Add the wine and crumble in the stock cube, stirring continuously until the liquid has completely reduced. Stir in the tomatoes and 1 tin's worth of water and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for around 1 hour, then remove the lid and continue cooking for 30 minutes, or until thickened and reduced.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Make the béchamel sauce: place the milk, butter and flours in a medium pan over a low heat. Heat gently, whisking continuously for 12 to 15 minutes, or until thickened. Grate in three-quarters of the Parmesan and a good grating of nutmeg. Season to taste, then set aside.
• Cut the sheets of pasta into rectangles (roughly 10cm x 15cm).
• Spoon one-third of the Bolognese sauce into an ovenproof dish (roughly 25cm x 30cm). Layer over one-third of the lasagne sheets and top with one-third of the béchamel sauce. Repeat with the remaining ingredients until you have three layers in total, finishing with a final layer of béchamel. Grate over the remaining Parmesan and drizzle with olive oil, then cover with tin foil. Place in the hot oven for around 20 minutes, remove the foil and continue cooking for around 30 minutes, or until golden and bubbling. Serve with a nice, crisp salad.

GLUTEN-FREE LAZY LASAGNA

Steps:

• Brown the ground beef with the garlic in a large pan over medium heat.
• Add the onion; saute until soft.
• Add the tomato; saute until soft.
• Stir in tomato sauce, oregano, marinara seasoning, and cloves (if using).
• Turn the heat to low, or until the sauce is barely simmering.
• Meanwhile, boil the pasta until al dente.
• Line a small oven-safe dish with tinfoil; line bottom with cooked pasta.
• Lay the roasted red peppers overtop, if using.
• Pour the meat and sauce mixture evenly over pasta and peppers.
• Top with cheeses; broil at 500* until cheese is browned and bubbly (about 8-10 minutes).
• Enjoy!