Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Ricotta Lasagna


Lasagna- full of sinful goodness. Ah... how can I forget those days in Singapore, where a bunch of us (u know who u r!) took pride in heading to Milano at Junction 8, pigging out on their al carte menu. Each of us polishing off 2 individual sized lasagnas. Those lovely days when we did not worry about calories or fat. All we wanted was good food, good company and lots of laughter. Ahh.. how I missed those days.

A ricotta lasagna is not as rich as the one at Milano's. Nor is it authentic. However, it is tasty, low fat and make a easy dinner solution.

That way, I can have my 2nd portion of lasagna, guilt free and an opportunity to reminisce good times that we had.

Low Fat Ricotta Lasagna
500 grams of lean ground beef
1 chopped red onion
1 tablespoon of garlic
pinch of chili powder and cumin
300 grams tub of low fat ricotta cheese
1 cup of chopped button mushrooms
1 cup of frozen mixed vegetables
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
1 cup of cheddar
Lasagna sheets-depends on your pan size. I used about 6 sheets.

Bechamel sauce
3 tablespoons of low fat spread
1 tablespoon of flour
1 -2 cups of Carnations light and Easy milk


Method
Make bechamel sauce by melting butter and stiring flour in it. Cook till it becomes a golden paste. Add in milk. Using a sauce whisk, stir till all the flour bits are done. Simmer till it becomes thick. Set aside.

Pre heat oven at 200C.

Meat- heat oil in a pan. Fry onions and garlic till done. Add ground beef. Cook till almost done. Add salt, pepper, chili and cumin. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and paste and simmer. Add in mushrooms and frozen vegetables. Simmer for about 20 minutes.

Start layering. Lasagna sheets at the bottom followed by a layer of meat and bechamel sauce. Top with half of the ricotta cheese. Repeat. For the last layer, top with meat, bechamel sauce and sprinkle chedder and parmesan cheese on top. Bake for about 25-30 minutes till it becomes golden brown.

Serve with a side salad.

if you want a richer version-check out Paprika's lasagna al forno con melanzane!

On another note.. I did the typing test and scored
89 words

Speedtest



Hmm...

10 comments:

InspiredMumof2 said...

Yum, I have been eating too much chinese food past weeks and craving alot for pasta and chocolates! This lasagne recipe came in time :-)_

Wandering Chopsticks said...

To be even lower in fat, I use small curd cottage cheese. It melts in the oven and is lighter tasting than heavy cheeses.

Anonymous said...

Ah, low fat lasagna, so great!

Hazza said...

I must say that Lasagne is one thingI never tried myself. As much as I like it, it is widely available, prepared, here in the UK from ukp1 and at those prices, its almost cheaper to buy. I like the look of yours though. Looks like something froma top restaurant! And thanks for the tip about the egg over noodles!

Jessy and her dog Winnie said...

Yum low fat lasagna!!

Little Corner of Mine said...

Love your low fat version!

And wow, you can type very fast!

Par said...

It's been a while since I last ate lasagna, never really like them when I ate them more then 10 years ago but I guess I should give it a try again.

daphne said...

inspiredmumof2- hope u r better now!

wandering chopsticks- great idea! hv to find curd cheese now.

celine- hv to be low fat after eating all those choc cookies ... haha.

hazza-lucky u!! Here they are expensive!

jessy- hey there! Welcome!

Little Corner- Must be all those last minute assignments...

ilovepearly- maybe it is an accquired taste. it can be quite strong tasting.

teckiee said...

wahh a lot of people doing this speed test thing..i should do try too

Anonymous said...

OMG looks so yummy... Lasagne is one of my favourites! I must drag my bf to do this along one fine day...

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...