Three Cheese Meatball Lasagne

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This three cheese meatball lasagne was on the cover of the October 2018 BBC Good Food magazine...it's what made me buy the magazine!  I made it at the time and we loved it, and have only just recently made it again.   Not sure why it's taken so long...too many other delicious things to be cooking!!

The tomato sauce is delicious with the yummy flavours of fennel and chilli flakes and there's more than enough sausage meatballs to get some in every bite!

If you love traditional lasagne, I think you'll enjoy trying out this one too.

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How to make this Three Cheese Meatball Lasagne

Ingredients

• 12 pork sausages
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tsp fennel seeds
• 2 tsp dried oregano or a small handful of fresh oregano leaves, chopped
• 0.5 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 500ml passata
• 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 100g butter
• 2 bay leaves
• 100g plain flour
• 1 litre milk
• 0.25 fresh nutmeg, finely grated
• 100g baby spinach
• handful basil, leaves torn
• 50g parmesan, grated
• 250g dried lasagne sheets (about 12 sheets) or 4 fresh pasta sheets
• 50g cheddar, grated
• 150g ball mozzarella, torn into small pieces

Instructions

1. Squeeze the meat from the sausages and roll into meatballs – you’ll get about four balls from each sausage. Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a wide, deep frying pan or casserole dish on a medium to high heat. Cook the meatballs in batches, making sure you don’t overcrowd the pan, until they’re all golden brown. Put them aside on a plate when they’re ready.
2. Heat the rest of the olive oil in the pan and add the onion. Cook on a medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes until soft, then stir in the garlic, fennel, oregano, and chilli flakes, if using. Stir around for a minute or 2, then add the sugar, passata and tomatoes. Add a little water to the tomato tin to wash out all the tomatoes and add to the pan. Season well and simmer, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes over a gentle heat until the sauce thickens, and the chopped tomatoes break down.
3. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium to low heat, add the bay leaves and let them sizzle in the butter for 1 minute, then add the flour.  Whisk or use a wooden spurtle to make a smooth paste, then add the milk, a little at a time, stirring continuously until it’s all incorporated and you have a thick white sauce. Add the nutmeg and some seasoning. Leave over a low heat for 5 minutes to allow the bay to infuse, whisking or stirring every now and then.

To assemble:

1. Keep about 10 meatballs aside and add the rest to the tomato sauce. Spoon half the tomato sauce and meatballs into a baking dish (ours was 25cm x 35cm). Top with half the spinach, half the basil and a little parmesan. Pour over about a third of the white sauce, and top with a layer of lasagne sheets, breaking them up to fit the dish if you need to.
2. Repeat the layers once more, meatballs and sauce, spinach, basil, parmesan, white sauce, pasta. Pour the remaining white sauce over the lasagne, spreading it to the corners to cover the pasta. Dot with the meatballs you set aside earlier and the mozzarella, then scatter over a generous helping of parmesan and cheddar. Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Or if not eating straight away, chill for up to 24 hours or freeze for two months (defrost in the fridge overnight before cooking).
3. Bake the lasagne for 40 to 50 minutes until bubbling and golden with lots of crusty cheesy bits around the edges. Leave to sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

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Three Cheese Meatball Lasagne

By: Deborah

Flavours of fennel and chilli flakes in the sauce and more than enough sausage meatballs for every bite!

PREP: 20 minutes minutes

COOK: 1 hour hour 35 minutes minutes

TOTAL: 1 hour hour 55 minutes minutes

Course: Main

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 6 people

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Equipment

• Shallow casserole dish
• Saucepan
• Ovenproof dish

Ingredients

• 12 pork sausages
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 onions chopped
• 4 garlic cloves crushed
• 2 tsp fennel seeds
• 2 tsp dried oregano or a small handful of fresh oregano leaves chopped
• 0.5 tsp chilli flakes optional
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 500 ml (2 cups) passata
• 400 g (14 oz) tin chopped tomatoes
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 100 g (3.5 oz) butter
• 2 bay leaves
• 100 g (3.5 oz) plain flour
• 1 (4 ¼ cups) litre milk
• 0.25 fresh nutmeg finely grated
• 100 g (3.5 oz) baby spinach
• handful basil leaves torn
• 50 g (1.8 oz) parmesan grated
• 250 g (8.8 oz) dried lasagne sheets about 12 sheets or 4 fresh pasta sheets
• 50 g (1.8 oz) cheddar grated
• 150 g (5.3 oz) ball mozzarella torn into small pieces

Instructions

• Squeeze the meat from the sausages and roll into meatballs – you’ll get about four balls from each sausage. Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a wide, deep frying pan or casserole dish on a medium to high heat. Cook the meatballs in batches, making sure you don’t overcrowd the pan, until they’re all golden brown. Put them aside on a plate when they’re ready.
• Heat the rest of the olive oil in the pan and add the onion. Cook on a medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes until soft, then stir in the garlic, fennel, oregano, and chilli flakes, if using. Stir around for a minute or 2, then add the sugar, passata and tomatoes. Add a little water to the tomato tin to wash out all the tomatoes and add to the pan. Season well and simmer, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes over a gentle heat until the sauce thickens, and the chopped tomatoes break down.
• Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium to low heat, add the bay leaves and let them sizzle in the butter for 1 minute, then add the flour.  Whisk or use a wooden spurtle to make a smooth paste, then add the milk, a little at a time, stirring continuously until it’s all incorporated and you have a thick white sauce. Add the nutmeg and some seasoning. Leave over a low heat for 5 minutes to allow the bay to infuse, whisking or stirring every now and then.

To assemble:

• Keep about 10 meatballs aside and add the rest to the tomato sauce. Spoon half the tomato sauce and meatballs into a baking dish (ours was 25cm x 35cm). Top with half the spinach, half the basil and a little parmesan. Pour over about a third of the white sauce, and top with a layer of lasagne sheets, breaking them up to fit the dish if you need to.
• Repeat the layers once more, meatballs and sauce, spinach, basil, parmesan, white sauce, pasta. Pour the remaining white sauce over the lasagne, spreading it to the corners to cover the pasta. Dot with the meatballs you set aside earlier and the mozzarella, then scatter over a generous helping of parmesan and cheddar. Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Or if not eating straight away, chill for up to 24 hours or freeze for two months (defrost in the fridge overnight before cooking).
• Bake the lasagne for 40 to 50 minutes until bubbling and golden with lots of crusty cheesy bits around the edges. Leave to sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

• This three cheese meatball lasagne recipe can easily be halved if you're cooking for less people.   Leftovers can also be frozen in an airtight container.   Defrost thoroughly and reheat in the oven.

 

You might also like to try:

• Italian dishes
• pasta dishes

Nutrition

Calories: 1105kcal | Carbohydrates: 73g | Protein: 46g | Fat: 71g | Saturated Fat: 31g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 27g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 185mg | Sodium: 1459mg | Potassium: 1446mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 3872IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 1045mg | Iron: 6mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

KEYWORDS comfort food, lasagne, meatballs, pasta bake, pork lasagne, sausage lasagne, sausages, winter warmer

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