Michelle’s fancy Lasagne

Beginning this week some of our well-known personalities, celebrities and good old cooks will share their favourite recipes with you. Today we feature former beauty queen Michelle Khan who is more known for being in front the cameras than in front of a stove. Whenever she cooks, Michelle’s favourite is a lasagne that gets pretty varied with broccoli and carrots thrown in for good measure. She takes you step by step to her
signature Lasagne.

First of all, a lot of people who don’t know me think I don’t cook but I do! I love to cook, as it means time alone and so many thoughts go through my head. It allows me to clear my mind and really spend time with myself. My favourite recipe is Lasagne and I have gone a little bit out of the box to make it my signature piece. I think Douglas has eaten my very first lasagne! Though I come from a big family (six girls and one boy) with all sisters cooking very well (especially the curry) I cannot do most dishes they are masters at. My mother, Lazina Khan, is the BEST cook ever, anything she cookes, makes you want to lick your plate and almost eat off your fingers... she is exceptionally good with curry. The first time I had to prepare lasagne I was on the phone with my sister through the entire process…..so enough said here is my recipe.

Ingredients
1 box of lasagne shells (it does not matter as the shells to me are all the same)
1 ? lb of ground beef (I love a meaty lasagne)
1 tin of Hunt’s meat sauce (there is quite a selection to choose from, my favourite is the Garlic and Onion flavour)
1 lb of cheese (grated)
1 bundle of fresh green seasoning
1 large onion (sliced)
4 garlic cloves (minced) 
2 pimentos (sliced)
2 large tomatoes (sliced)
1 pack of evaporated milk
1 head of broccoli
2 carrot sticks
2 large sweet peppers
And black pepper, salt, Golden Ray, olive oil, oregano and parsley to taste.

Preparation
Grind fresh seasoning with two of the four garlic clove and one pimento. Season beef and leave standing for at least two hours. This allows the beef to saut? in the seasoning giving a well-seasoned flavour. Wash all vegetables and chop in chunks or thin strips. I prefer it chunky. Boil water in deep pot. Add lasagne shells to boiling water, with a dash of salt and a few drops of olive oil. Boil on medium heat and keep stirring. The olive oil prevents the shells from sticking to each other so it is easy to lay your lasagne and it also gives a lovely flavour to the boiled pasta. Strain and set aside. Heat a skillet over medium heat with two teaspoons of olive oil then saut? garlic and then mix in the onions, pimentos and tomatoes. The saut?ed combination should give a wonderful “yummy” scent to almost make your mouth water and alert the neighbours that you’re cooking up a storm!

Stir in seasoned ground beef and fry until brown. Cover and simmer on low heat, allow meat to cook in its seasoned juices.  After about five to eight minutes, stir in tomato sauce and continue to cook on low heat. Cover and simmer for about ten minutes. Keep stirring as ingredients thicken and bubble and, depending on the type of pot you are using, might stick to the bottom. This is the time I like to taste my meat sauce to check for the salt and pepper. According to the taste I would put a little square of Golden Ray butter and a dash of dried parsley and oregano. They give a great flavour. Cook in open heat for a few minutes more before turning off the stove. Be very careful as the meat sauce boils and bubbles, so wear your apron and mitten at all times. Now for the vegetables. Heat another skillet with two teaspoons of olive oil and stir in carrot and then add sweet peppers and broccoli. I like it cooked to the point of still crunchy, so no need to cook too much, make sure it is coated with the olive oil. Then set this aside as you are almost ready to make up your lasagne. Please note you can use any kind of vegetables I choose these because these are the vegetables I love in my lasagne.

Now the last thing I do is my cheese sauce which needs to be done last simply because if this is done before and set aside, by the time you are ready to use it, it will be lumpy. It is important for the cheese sauce to be smooth, thick and rich. But before you start your sauce you start to lay the lasagne while you place a pot on slow heat to start the cheese sauce. For laying of the lasagne you get a glass baking dish put some meat sauce at the bottom of the dish just about a spoon full and smother around the dish. Then start laying in strips the boiled lasagne skins very neatly from one end of the dish to the other. Then you place a full layer of the meat sauce and after a layer of vegetables. By this time the pot for the cheese sauce is nice and warm. Pour the evaporated milk into the pot and keep stirring. Add a little black pepper to the milk and slowly add the grated cheese and stir as you go along. Don’t use all the cheese as you will use some of it to top off the dish. So continue to stir the cheese sauce until cheese is melted and the consistency is smooth and thick. Now pour the cheese sauce unto the vegetable layer. It will seep down through the veggies to the meat sauce giving a great combination.

If you can do another layer in the same manner according to how big and deep your baking dish is then go ahead!, However, leave a little bit of the cheese sauce for the top as well. Finally, you will end up with a layer of lasagne skins on the top, covering the wonderful rich lasagne. You then use the remaining cheese sauce over it and sprinkle the remaining grated cheese on the top and place in a pre-heated oven of 350 degrees. Cook until light brown at the top, or when you stick a fork in it and it comes out clean it is done! I always like having my lasagne with garlic bread which you can buy at the major supermarkets — pop these in the oven and within minutes you have garlic bread or you can make your own garlic bread by using ordinary sliced bread and garlic butter. Also, you can grind the garlic and mix it in the butter and make your own garlic butter. To top this off, I have an iceberg lettuce salad with fresh broccoli  and cucumbers with a ranch dressing and to really cream it off, savour a glass of red wine — Maybe a Merlot that is not too dry and not too fruity — this is my preference. South African Wines selections are very good. Enjoy my lasagne!