Description
This easy lasagne recipe with spicy sausage and fennel is rich and immensely satisfying. You don’t need to pre-cook the lasagne sheets or make a complicated béchamel sauce. It requires some prep, but once it’s in the oven, your work is done. Perfectly delicious golden brown cheesy lasagne. You know you want it…
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 500g sausage mince (high quality pork or chicken)
- 200 g turkey thigh mince
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tin of tomatoes
- 1 onion, diced, or 4 small shallots
- 3 cloves garlic, grated
- 3 Tbsp Calabrian chilli paste (or 1 Tbsp chilli flakes)
For the pasta layer
- 9 Lasagne sheets
For the cheesy layer
- 500g Ricotta
- 200g grated Mozzarella
- 1/2 cup or 125ml cream
- Pinch Nutmeg
- 10g or 2 Tbsp chopped parsley
- 50g Parmesan
For the Topping
- Extra Parmesan
- 2 balls Mozzarella (300g)
Instructions
- If you plan to simmer your sauce for an extended period, begin by preparing the sauce. However, if you prefer a quicker approach, then start by soaking the pasta sheets for 30-45 minutes before assembling your lasagne.
- Place the lasagne sheets next to one another on a tray, pour cold water over them, and set them aside until needed.
- Toast a generous ½ teaspoon of fennel seeds, on medium-high heat in a large saucepan. Remove the fennel seeds then drizzle oil into the saucepan.
- Remove the sausage meat from the casing and add to the pan along with the turkey mince. Cook the mince and crumble it into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Fry for 10-15 minutes on a high heat until all the mince is a rich golden brown.
- Once golden, add the toasted fennel seeds into the mince mixture, along with the onions. Cover, lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring every so often until the onions are translucent (around 5 minutes). Once soft, grate in the garlic, stir it in and cook for a further minute.
- Tip the tomatoes into the mince mixture, rinse the tin by half filling it with water and add this to the mixture along with the Calabrian chilli paste.
- Simmer until the sauce reduces, (about 15-20 minutes) until it is thick and glossy*
- While the sauce simmers make the cheesy layers. Combine the grated mozzarella, ricotta, nutmeg, Parmesan, chopped parsley and the cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Drain the pasta. Check the sauce. It should be thick, but spread easily when ladled into a dish. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
- Heat the oven to 200C.
- Drizzle a little oil into a high sided baking dish, suitably sized to feed 6 hungry people. Use a brush or your hands to lightly coat the inside of the dish with oil. This will stop the lasagne from sticking.
- Spoon in half of the spicy sausage sauce and top with 3 sheets of pasta.
- Dollop half of your cheese mixture over the lasagne sheets, then flatten with a spoon.
- Layer in 3 more sheets of pasta, then top with the remaining spicy sausage sauce.
- Finally finish with a layer of pasta, and top with the rest of the cheese mixture.
- Tear the mozzarella balls into chunks and scatter these across the top. Grate over a dusting of Parmesan.
- Cover the lasagne with tin foil and bake until the pasta is cooked through and the sauce is bubbling, typically around 25-30 minutes. You will know the pasta sheets are cooked, when the lasagne is easily pierced with a knife.
- Remove the foil and continue baking for an additional 30-40 minutes until the lasagne achieves a deep golden brown colour on top, along with crispy edges.
- Allow the lasagne to rest for 10 minutes out of the oven, then slice into 6 portions and serve
Enjoy!
Notes
This sauce, like all simmered stews only gets better with time. So if you have time to spare, turn the heat low, and simmer away for between 30 minutes and 2 hours. Top up with water as you go to stop the sauce from over reducing and burning.
- Prep Time: 50 min
- Cook Time: 60 min
- Category: Mains
- Cuisine: Italian inspired
Nutrition
- Calories: 856.86kcal
- Sugar: 6.77g
- Sodium: 946.76mg
- Fat: 38.11g
- Saturated Fat: 26.55g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11.03g
- Trans Fat: 0.53g
- Carbohydrates: 42.12g
- Fiber: 2.9g
- Protein: 57.63g
- Cholesterol: 205.04mg