You need to get a few pans dirty, but it's quicker than you think and well worth it. And our wine matcher suggests the ideal fruity accompaniment.
Each portion contains...
| Calories | Sugars | Fat | Saturates | Salt |
| 433 | 13g | 17g | 6g | 0.9g |
| 22% | 14% | 24% | 30% | 15% |
... of an adult's Guideline Daily Amount
Takes: 45 mins
Serves: 6
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
2 x 400g (14oz) tins chopped tomatoes
2tbsp tomato purée
300ml (1/2 pint) hot beef stock
500g (1lb 2oz) lean beef mince
60g (2 1/4oz) low-fat spread
60g (2 1/4oz) plain flour
700ml (1 1/4 pint) semi-skimmed milk
1/2tsp grated nutmeg
250g (9oz) lasagne sheets (fresh lasagne from the chiller cabinet are best)
1. Place the onion, garlic, celery and carrot in a pan with the tomatoes, tomato purée and hot beef stock. Season well, cover and cook over a medium heat for 10 mins.
2. Dry-fry the mince in a pan until brown, drain off any excess fat and add to the tomato mixture.
3. Melt the low-fat spread in a pan, add the flour and cook for a couple of mins, then gradually add the milk until you have a thick sauce. Season with the nutmeg and set aside.
4. In an oven-proof dish, layer the meat sauce with the lasagne sheets and white sauce, finishing with a layer of white sauce. Cook in the oven at 180°C/350°F/gas 4 for 20-30 mins, covering with foil if it gets too brown.
Top tip: This healthy lasagne is a great alternative to regular lasagne and contains half the fat and calories. Plus, you can use up any leftover bolognese to make this dish.
Wine match: For a dish with lots of tomato sauce, a Zinfandel is perfect. The jammy fruits in Gallo Family Vineyards Turning Leaf Zinfandel or GFV Zinfandel make either a perfect accompaniment to this traditional dish.
Wine tip: If you're cooking with wine, try to use the same wine as the one you're drinking.
Food and wine matching by Sylvain Removille, wine ambassador for Gallo Family Vineyards.
More recipes:
Red wine beef stew
Wild mushroom lasagne
Vegetarian lasagne
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Making lasagne looks tricky, but it couldn't be easier if you follow our step-by-step guide in pictures!
Step 1. Lasagne needs a lot of ingredients, check that you've got everything.
Takes: 45 mins
Serves: 6
Shopping list:
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
2 x 400g (14oz) tins chopped tomatoes
2tbsp tomato purée
300ml (1/2 pint) hot beef stock
500g (1lb 2oz) lean beef mince
60g (2 1/4oz) low-fat spread
60g (2 1/4oz) plain flour
700ml (1 1/4 pint) semi-skimmed milk
1/2tsp grated nutmeg
250g (9oz) fresh lasagne sheets (you can find these in most supermarkets, in the chiller cabinets)
To make the base of the mince sauce start with the hard veg first. It's traditional to chop the vegetables finely but if you prefer a chunkier sauce just roughly chop the veg.
Step 2.
Chop the onion, celery and carrot finely and crush the garlic - if you don't have a garlic crusher, put the cloves in a clear plastic bag and mash them up with a meat tenderiser. Put all vegetables in a pan, stir and season well.
If you can't get tinned chopped tomatoes, buy the tins of whole tomatoes and mash with a fork.
Step 3.
Add the tins of chopped tomatoes, tomato pureé and hot beef stock to the chopped vegetables. Cover and cook on a medium heat for 10 mins.
Getting the white sauce right is crucial, but don't worry, make it slowly over a low heat and use a hand-held whisk to beat out any lumps.
Step 4.
Melt the low-fat spread in a pan over a low heat - if it's too hot it will separate or burn and spoil. Gradually add the flour and stir in.
If you want to make this dish even lower in fat use semi-skimmed milk but not skimmed as it's not thick enough. You might find that you don't need all the milk, add as much as you need to to get a custard-like consistency.
Step 5.
Add the milk gradually, stirring all the time. Beat any lumps with a hand-held whisk.
You've almost finished the sauce, now for the finishing touch - nutmeg. It's easier to buy the ready grated stuff from the supermarket.
Step 6.
Turn off the heat, stir the sauce a final time and beat out any lumps with a whisk. Add the nutmeg, stir and set aside - don't worry if the sauce gets a skin - you can get rid of that by stirring with a hand-held whisk just before you pour the sauce onto the dish.
Minced beef is best for this recipe and use lean mince to keep this dish low-fat.
Step 7.
Dry-fry the mince until it's brown.
If you want a stronger tomatoy taste swap tomato pureé for sun-dried tomato pureé.
Step 8.
Add the fried mince to the tomato and vegetable mixture, season to taste and stir.
You might think that it's better to put the pasta sheets in first to hold the dish together but this will just make the pasta stick to the bottom. Start with the mince sauce first.
Step 9.
In an ovenproof dish spoon in the mince mixture. Cover the bottom of the dish with a layer of the sauce about an inch thick.
Some people like to add mince sauce on top of the dish and then add the white sauce, but the traditional way is to finish the dish with a layer of pasta and then the white sauce.
Step 10.
Place the pasta sheets on top of the mince sauce, ensure the edges of the pasta sheets overlap a bit to hold the dish together. Spoon more mince sauce over the pasta sheets, again about an inch or so thick. Then layer more pasta sheets on top of the sauce as before. Repeat this so that you have two or three layers of pasta - the dish should finish with pasta, not with mince.
You might like to add some grated cheese to the top of the lasagne, use Cheddar or Parmesan.
Step 11.
Spoon the sauce on top of the top layer of pasta and leave about half an inch from the top of the ovenproof dish. If it starts to brown too quicly cover with foil and continue cooking.
Because lasagne is so filling you don't need much to go with it, just some salad and bread to soak up the sauces. And if you've got any left over mince sauce or white sauce you can freeze it.
Step 12.
Put the dish into a pre-heated oven at 180ºC/350F/gas 4 for 20-30 mins. If you notice the lasagne is going brown on top before it's ready cover with foil and continue cooking.
If you like making pasta we've got loads more great recipes such as spicy beef cannelloni
See our other pasta recipes
Balancing your weekly food bill can be difficult, see our cheap family meal ideas for inspiration