Lasagne with spinach, LCHF style
Originally uploaded by Manne.
The question I wanted to answer today was this: is it possible to make an approximation of lasagne if you stay away from the pasta sheets?
Why? After all the bingeing on food and drink over Christmas I really need to get off the carbs and back on the LCHF wagon.
Browsing through a number of online recipes I found lots of ideas for great bolognese, and a really quick and simple way of making cheese sauce without the flour. But no ideas on removing the pasta...
Eventually I decided to combine the bolognese from a Ramsay lasagne recipe, the simple cheese sauce and just add more cheese... Replacing the pasta sheets with cheese slices! Jarlsberg, to be more exact.
To give it a resemblance of freshness (and try to add some more structure) I also figured I should add some baby spinach between the layers.
So did it approximate a lasagne? Hell no. Without the pasta, there is absolutely nothing giving any architectural support and structure. Those flimsy spinach leaves failed their intended task massively. They did however bring a really nice flavour to the party.
If anything, this felt more like a really cheesy (as in lots of cheese, not 80s pop music) version of a Greek moussaka, and as such I must say it was really good.
Ingredients (serves 6)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
4 carrots, grated
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
500 gr beef mince
2 tbsp tomato puree
1.5 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
50 ml red wine
1 400 gr tin chopped tomatoes
50 ml cream
8 slices of Jarlsberg cheese
a few handfuls of baby spinach
salt and pepper for seasoning
dried oregano
For the cheese sauce
150 ml cream
150 ml creme fraiche
2 cups grated cheese
salt and pepper for seasoning
juice of one lime
Method
Start oven, 225 degrees Celsius.
In a large pot, heat the olive oil and fry the carrots, onions and garlic until onions are soft and translucent. Season with salt and pepper, the Worcestershire sauce and half a teaspoon oregano.
Move the veg to the sides of the pot and add the beef mince. Break it up and let it fry for a minute or two. Add in the tomato puree, mix it all together. Fry while stirring now and then until all mince is nicely browned.
Add the wine and let the alcohol cook off, then add the tomatoes. Let simmer for a few minutes. Stir in the cream, turn off heat.
To make the cheese sauce, simply bring the cream and creme fraiche to simmer in a sauce pan. Add the cheese and stir until completely melted and the sauce is smooth. Season with some salt and pepper, and to add some freshness squeeze the juice of a lime or a lemon into the pan. I really like that added zing.
I recommend steaming the spinach for a few minutes to make it easier to layer. I didn't do that and ended up with spinach stems pointing everywhere, burning a bit while in the oven. You can use the spinach leaves as is though if you don't have a steaming pot.
Time for the layering.
Put half of the bolognese in a baking dish (my 22 cm square dish was perfect for the job) and then layer 4 of the Jarlsberg slices on top. On top of the Jarlsberg put a layer of spinach. Pour half of the cheese sauce on the spinach and spread it evenly.
Then, you guessed it, the other half of the bolognese followed by the remaining 4 slices of cheese. Some more spinach, and then the last of the cheese sauce.
For some cheese overload, finish the layering with some grated parmesan! Sprinkle some oregano over it all, whack it in the oven for about 20 minutes or until nicely browned spots start showing up on the top.
Enjoy.
