January has been declared a month for mince recipes on ‘Aweepinchofsugar’ and I’ve been cooking dishes using different types of mince. This recipe for Greek Lasagne, made with lamb mince is a welcome change of flavour from the Italian version I regularly make.
As a supporter of local farmers and food producers it is always Scottish lamb for me and my butcher was happy to mince some lamb shoulder for this recipe. However you may live elsewhere but wherever that is please support your local farmers, particularly at a time where supermarkets are stocking foreign lamb over home reared produce.
Greek salad and a glass of red wine….all you need for a delicious relaxing meal
750g Minced lamb
1.5 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 medium red onion finely chopped
4 garlic cloves crushed or finely chopped
I finely grated carrot
6cm piece of Cinnamon stick
3 tsp dried oregano
2 400g tins chopped tomatoes
4 tbsp tomato purée
2tsp tapenade
Large glass of white wine.
14oz Macaroni pasta
Topping
200ml Natural yoghurt
75g Mature Cheddar grated
75g Feta Cheese crumbled
1 large egg
Pre heat oven to 190c/170c fan
Heat the oil over a medium heat in a large sauté pan, add the onion and cook for approx 5 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and continue cooking for about 1 minute.
Increase the heat, add the lamb and cook until browned. I like to drain off the fat at this stage as it makes the finished dish less greasy.
Add the tomato purée, stir to mix well with the lamb and continue cooking for 2 – 3 minutes, then add the tapenade and oregano, season and mix well.
Add the tinned tomatoes and half fill the can with the white wine and add to the pan, stir well and continue cooking for 10-15 minutes. Add the grated carrot and cook for a further 10-15 minutes.
During the last 15 minutes of the lamb cooking, cook the macaroni according to the instructions on the packet.
Topping
Beat the egg and add to the yoghurt along with half of the cheese.
Layer half of the macaroni into a deep oven proof dish, followed by a layer of lamb mince.Repeat with a second layer of each and spread with the yoghurt topping and scatter with the remainder of the cheeses .
Bake for 25 – 30 minutes until bubbling and lightly browned.
Blackface Sheep with Ben Cruachan in the background
Salad and bread are all you need to make this a delicious meal.
My thanks once again to Alice Strange at Potiki.com for permission to reproduce her artwork in this post.