Lasagne But Not As You Know It

As-Salaamu Alaykum,

Unauthentic home comfort food. This 'lasagne' uses non traditional spices, lamb mince, NO wine, 1 layer of pasta which is good if your trying to reduce your intake of carbs and instead of the traditional parmesan / mozarella crust I topped mine with my favourite British cheese, cheddar!

2 out 3 of my children love it and so do I.

In my best Italian accent ''Ya cannat beata home-made''!

Lasagne

Makes 1 x 20 cm square lasagne about 2-3cm deep

Ingredients

Meat Sauce

250 grams mince lamb

1 average onion, finely chopped

salt, to taste (for me ¾ teaspoon )

black pepper, to taste (for me ¼ teaspoon)

½ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon garlic granules

1 x 400g tin plum tomatoes

sprinkling of sugar 

Béchamel Sauce

2 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 tablespoon plain flour

400 millilitres whole milk

salt & pepper, to taste

To Assemble

3 lasagne sheets (dry)

mature cheddar cheese, grated

Method

1. Make Meat Sauce: In large frying pan sauté onion in 1 tablespoon of olive oil for 5 minutes or until soft and translucent. Add mince seasoning spices and cook until meat has browned. Add tin of tomatoes and sugar, crush the tomatoes using wooden spoon then let the sauce cook, stirring occasionally until the sauce has reduced about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside.
2. Pre Heat Oven to 180 C. Make Béchamel Sauce: In a medium sized saucepan melt butter over medium heat then add flour and continuously stir for a minute or two using a wooden spoon. Slowly add milk, stirring always using a whisk until the sauce has thickened slightly about 5 minutes. Stir in salt and pepper then switch off the heat. 
3. Assemble and Cook: In a 20x20 cm square baking tin place half of the meat sauce and spread to make an even layer then do the same with a third of the béchamel sauce, layer of lasagne sheets, then add the remaining half of meat sauce, the remaining two thirds béchamel sauce and top with a layer of cheese. Bake in oven on middle or top shelf (if you like a crust) for 20 minutes, check after half time to make sure the cheese isn't burning! Remove from oven and let it cool for 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.