Dinner - Lasagna Bolognese-Style

Matt and I were looking for a meal that we could make in a decent amount of time. This meal from Rachael Ray was listed as a "30 minute meal", however it does take a bit longer than that...perhaps 45 minutes to an hour! There is a bit of prep to do with this one, for instance: pre-cooking lasagna noodles and chopping onion and garlic.

This is no traditional lasagna, as it is not formed in layers of pasta and meat sauce. Rather, the noodles and meat sauce in this dish are combined then poured into a casserole dish, topped with sauce and cheese and baked.

It was not a bad meal, and afforded us plenty of leftovers. I could see making this again in the future, as an alternative to traditional lasagna.

If you would like a printable version of this recipe, please see this website.

Lasagna Bolognese-Style

Ingredients:
-Salt and Pepper
-1 pound lasagna noodles, broken into irregular pieces
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-1-1/2 pounds ground beef (we used ground turkey)
-1 onion, finely chopped
-2 to 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
-1 small carrot, finely chopped
-1 sprig rosemary, finely chopped (we used dried rosemary, a teaspoon or so)
-Sprinkle of ground cloves
-1/4 cup tomato paste
-1 cup white wine
-2 cups beef stock
-3 tablespoons butter
-2 rounded tablespoons flour
-2 cups whole milk
-Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
-Freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese (sub parmesan or romano if desired)

Cook pasta as directed on package until it reaches al dente.

(If you have a dutch oven, use it now! If not, use your normal pot and transfer to a casserole dish below).

Heat the olive oil (about 1 tablespoon) over medium-high heat. Add beef and cook well. Add onion, garlic, carrot, rosemary, cloves, with a dash of salt and pepper. Cook until tender, about 7-8 minutes. Stir in tomato paste for 1 minute, then stir in wine for 1 minute. Stir in stock and simmer a few minutes longer.

Preheat the broiler and position rack in center of the oven. In saucepan, melt butter over med heat. Whisk in flour and milk, then let thicken to coat a spoon. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Toss pasta with meat sauce and arrange in casserole dish. Pour the sauce over the top evenly. Top with cheese of your choice and broil in the oven to brown the top.