Moving on, the second recipe which I am going to introduce to you is the making of Beef Lasagna.

It is an Italian baked pasta dish. The pasta comes in a form of sheets which is layered alternately with pasta sauce as well as cheese sauce which is ultimately made from roux. These alternate layers are then topped with a final cheese layer and then baked till golden brown. Some variations of lasagna include using eggplant and even spinach as sheets instead of pasta. It is a delicious and easy to make dish which does not take much time to make.

Beef Lasagna
1 box Instant Lasagna Sheets

Sauce
1 bottle tomato-based pasta sauce
250g minced beef
1 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 carrot, diced
Oil for sauteeing
Sugar TT
Salt TT

Cheese Sauce
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp plain flour
250g chedder/ mozarella cheese
2 cups milk
Salt & Pepper TT

Methods
Sauce
1) Sautee onion and garlic till golden brown.
2) Add in the minced meat and allow most of the liquid to dry up.
3) Add the diced carrots.
4) Once the minced meat is thoroughly cooked, add sauce and allow to simmer.
5) Add mushrooms and seasonings to taste.
6) Allow the sauce to thicken furhter and put aside to cool.

Cheese Sauce
1) Melt the butter in a saucepan.
2) Take the pan off the heat and add in flour.
3) Return to heat, add in milk.
4)Stir well, ensure that the solutes dissolve.
5) All the sauce to thicken, add seasonings to taste.
6) Once sauce simmers, add cheese.
7) Allow for cheese to melt then switch off the flame.

Presentation
1) Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.
2) In an oven-proof dish, start layering alternately, the pasta sheets, pasta sauce and cheese sauce, starting with the pasta sheets as the base. This is followed by the pasta sauce then lastly, the cheese sauce.
3) Arrange them layer by layer and end with a layer of cheese sauce.
4) Bake the lasagna for approximately 20 minutes or until the surface turns golden brown.

Functions of Ingredients
Instant Lasagna Sheets: Provides a source of carbohydrates to the meal.

tomato-based pasta sauce: It is the bulk of the entire dish. Provides flavour, gives structure to the dish.

minced beef: Provides a source of protein to the meal.

red onion: Provides taste (sweetness when sauteed).

2 cloves garlic: Provides taste.

1 carrot: Provides a source of vitamins and minerals.

Oil: For sauteeing

Sugar: Provides taste to the otherwise sour tomato sauce.

Salt: Seasoning.

Butter: Essential for making roux which is the base of the cheese sauce.

Plain flour: An ingredient used in the making of roux.

Chedder/ mozarella cheese: Good source of protein, calcium. It is the main ingredient of the cheese sauce.

Milk: Bechamel sauce is made by adding milk to the roux.

Salt & Pepper : Seasoning.