Lasagne ‘pronto'

Ingredients

600 g beef mince

1 tbps olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 medium carrot, finely chopped

2 stick celery, finely chopped

700 g bottle tomato passata

0.5 cup water

2 tsp dried oregano or basil

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

300 ml carton thickened cream

To assemble

6 sheet fresh lasagne sheets (or 9 dried)

0.5 cup cup grated Parmesan cheese

30 g soft butter

extra grated Parmesan

Heat a large, deep-sided frypan, ensure it is hot. Crumble in half of the mince. Cook the mince, breaking up any lumps with a fork. Let the liquid evaporate . Remove the first batch, reheat pan and cook remaining mince and then remove.
Add oil, onion, carrot and celery to frypan, cook over a medium to low heat until onion is just soft. Return the mince to the frypan, add the tomato passata, water, herbs and season with salt, pepper and a small pinch of sugar.
Bring to the boil, reduce heat to low, partly cover and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes. Add a little water to sauce if needed as it cooks.
To assemble lasagne; Preheat oven to moderate 180ºC. Use a deep, rectangular ovenproof dish (we used one 31 x 23cm). Layer the meat sauce with the pasta sheets in the baking dish, sprinkle a little Parmesan over the meat sauce as you layer it. Finish with a layer of meat sauce, and then pour the cream over the top, sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan and a few tsp of butter.
Bake covered for 20 minutes, and then uncovered for a further 20 minutes, or until thoroughly hot. Remove from oven and stand for 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with the extra Parmesan to serve.

Make the lasagne ahead of time. You can make the meat sauce ahead of time (up to 2 days in advance, or even longer if you freeze it.) Assemble and bake your lasagne on the day of serving. When you're ready to assemble it preheat the oven and warm the meat sauce (just so it's warm to touch).
Buying and storing mince Refer to use-by-dates on packaged mince and use well within that time. Loose mince purchased from the butcher is best used within 1 to 2 days of buying it.
Mince can be frozen for 2-3 months Lay it out flat to freeze, it will then defrost evenly and quickly.
Thaw frozen mince in the fridge, or in the microwave Thaw it on the lowest shelf in the fridge, below and or away from any ready to eat food. If you thaw mince in the microwave it must be cooked right away.