The Nothing Too Pretentious Cookbook

Yes, apologies to the flood of people who have mailed in - 200°C is also 400°F and Gas Mark 6.

Thanks.

The Nothing Too Pretentious Cookbook

Two pots or fewer, or your money back!

I’m not the most adventurous of cooks, but there are a few comfort food dishes I really enjoy cooking. They are easy to produce, tasty to eat and straightforward to wash up.

Of course I’d like to share a few recipes with you! Today we have:

Unpretentious Lasagne

Feeds between two students and six hardcore dieters.

You will need:

One non-stick pan

One thumb deep rectangular oven proof dish

One wooden spoon

A chopping/cutting knife

Ingredients, all available from your local supermarket:

500g Mince

Lasagne Sheets (ready made)

Tomato Puree (tube)

White Sauce (Béchamel, usually – but sold as “White Sauce”)

Cheese, grated

Some chopped Basil (fresh - good, dried - ok)

Suggested: sliced peppers, sliced mushrooms or tinned sweetcorn

Method:

Oven on to 200C in preparation for later.

Hob to full whack.

Throw mince into non-stick pan and sprinkle in basil. Stir until cooked (i.e. not pink, brown is also ok). Add other suggested ingredients here, if you want. Once this has been mixed in, dump in tomato puree, as much as coats the mixture you have made. Reduce heat to about ¾. Gently add in more tomato puree until it looks like a very thick sauce, covering most of your mixture.

Get your dish. Spoon in mixture to cover the base of the dish. Smooth until relatively flat. Cover this layer with another layer, of the lasagne sheets. Completely cover the mixture. Repeat this process until you have run out of mixture. Top your last layer with more sheets. Pour over the top your white sauce. Cover this with grated cheese.

Bung lot on the top shelf of the ready heated oven for 30 minutes. If you haven’t done it already, turn off your hob.

After 30 minutes, the Unpretentious Lasagne is ready to serve. Caution! Hot. Caution! Moreish.

Lasagne is good served on its own, but goes well with a small portion of fresh steamed veg.

Don’t worry if your meat/veg mixture isn’t cooked thoroughly in the pan, it gets a full half-hour of raging heat in the oven.

Enjoy!

Tune in another time for more unpretentious cookery.