Accidentally made a nice lasagne

[DrowningInIt]

I have never made a good lasagne before they’ve always been so horrible or even inedible.
I put a bit of oil in the frying pan and added the pack of mince, and I added Cajun seasoning. Once fried drained it off and added a lot of basil and 400g good quality tomato sauce and a great big spoonful of marmite.
then I made the cheese sauce in another pan using milk flour, yeast flakes and a lot of chives
layered the mince in with the lasagne sheets, then cheese sauce on top.
It tasted really good!

Sounds yummy. I like to do pork mince with a little sage stuffing mix added as seasoning (the dead cheap one).

Marmite and cajun seasoning? What corner of Italy did that hail from ? 😁

No shade on the marmite. I save my old jars and rinse with hot water when I'm doing a sauce. No waste.

There's no cheese in your cheese sauce?!

I made a beautiful lasagne tonight tbh

Not strictly Italian but it was so good

Beef mince , dried red lentils ( to bulk and add extra protein ) garlic, onions, tomato paste ( cooked out ) tin of chopped toms, water and a red wine stock cube, salt , pepper, a wee touch of sugar and oregano

Béchamel, all in one method, salt, pepper and nutmeg

Parmasan for the top only

I also added for extra fibre and vitamins some chopped mushrooms and cubes of frozen spinach to the ragu mixture

Sooooooo good

<faints> in italiano.

It’s brilliant in beef stew

What happened to good old mirepoix? It’s really hard to get it wrong!

I am partial to a spoonful of harissa in mine.

I save old mustard & horseradish jars to wash out and add the dregs to casseroles.

Never made a lasagne that was any good. I tried a couple of times and they were horrid so I've not bothered again.

MARMITE?!

Im not saying your meal wasnt good, but its definitely not a lasagna…

This is the lasagne one I use but I do half pork mince and half beef and add a Parmesan rind
layered with mozzarella, Parmesan and béchamel

Why do you persist in making lasagne if they’re usually inedible? I’m all for random uses of marmite (my equivalent is miso paste in spag Bol). But I mostly admire your persistence.

I make an amazing lasagna. I don’t use ground beef, nor to I make a cheese sauce. I use salami (peppers if doing a non meat version) and use strong cheddar, Parmesan and mozzarella and am generous with all of them. For the tomato sauce I use Lloyd Grossman chili pasta sauce. It is more assembling than cooking but it’s always a hit.

What have I done wrong 😂

If it’s a dish layered with sauce(s) lasagne sheets and baked, of course it’s a lasagne. Just not a traditional Italian one.

Nothing - you’ve invented Cajun lasagne😂

better than the traditional use of Cajun spice we came across too often in the US - coating a fish and then burning it. Wtf…

I always use mirepoix, I do a lot of chopping then keep in freezer portioned to use

I always use mirepoix, I do a lot of chopping then keep in freezer portioned to use

My god! Cajun and basil and then yeast flakes!! What mixture. I'm glad it tasted good but it is not a lasagne!

Tell me more about the salami version; just chopped up instead of mince?

But the real question is… did you have buttery potatoes on the side?? 🤔

Vital part of lasagne wrangling is to let it stand a while then it is easier to cut and gives you neat layers not a gloopy mess ,

As PPs and other threads assert, it's the flat pasta (lasagne) which gives this layered dish its name. If you need a tasty recipe, @fthis has a good recipe for the bolognese version.

My favourite recipe calls for sautéd chicken livers added to the bolognese (see separate thread on how to pronounce this) so a spoonful of marmite to boost the umami seems an ok option; some people add worcestershire sauce.

Northern Italian recipes call for béchamel which in British is called 'white sauce' - no cheese included, but plenty of grated parmesan sprinkled on top of the top layer.
But truly, the thing that makes it 'lasagne' is using the flat noodles and layering them with the filling of your choice.