the BEST Chocolate Cake Recipe Ever

The Best Chocolate Cake

This has to be the BEST chocolate cake recipe, a chocoholics heaven!!  This is not for the faint hearted... it is beautifully moist & gooey!

Serves 14

Ingredients

The cake

200g good quality dark chocolate, about 70% cocoa solids (I always add a bit of milk chocolate)

200g butter, cut in pieces

1 tbsp instant coffee granules, mixed in 125ml cold water

85g self-raising flour

85g plain flour

1⁄4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

200g light muscovado sugar

200g golden caster sugar

25g cocoa powder

3 medium eggs

75ml buttermilk (5 tbsp)

grated chocolate or curls, to decorate

The  topping

200g good-quality dark chocolate , as above

284ml carton double cream (pouring type)

2 tbsp golden caster sugar

Your favourite chocolates or grated chocolate or curls, to decorate

Method

1.      Grease a 20cm round cake tin (7.5cm deep) with butter and line the base. Preheat the oven to fan 140°C/conventional 160°C/ gas mark 3. Break the chocolate in pieces into a medium, heavy-based pan. Place in the butter, then mix the coffee formula into the pan. Warm the mixture over a low heat until everything is melted.  

2.      Whilst the chocolate is melting, mix the two flours, bicarbonate of soda, sugars and cocoa in a big bowl, getting rid of any lumps. Beat the eggs in a bowl and stir in the buttermilk.

3.      Pour the melted chocolate mixture and the egg mixture into the flour mixture, stir until everything is well blended and you have a smooth and runny cake mixture. Pour this into the tin and bake for 1 hour 25 - 1 hour 30 minutes - if you push a skewer in the centre it should come out clean and the top should feel firm.  Leave to cool in the tin, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Don't worry if it cracks a bit or if it dips slightly.

4.      When the cake is cold, cut it horizontally into three, do not worry if the slice splits. Make the topping by chopping the chocolate into small pieces and tip into a bowl. Pour the cream into a pan, add the sugar, and heat until it is about to boil. Take off the heat and pour it over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.

5.      Sandwich the layers together with just a little of the topping. Pour the rest over the cake letting it fall down the sides and smoothing to cover with a palette knife. Decorate with chocolate of your choice, grated chocolate or a pile of chocolate curls.

Cooks Tips

v  The cake keeps moist and gooey for 3-4 days.

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Seared Tuna Steak with Spicy Risotto

Seared Tuna on Spicy Risotto

This is amazing, you have to try!!  The perfectly marinated fresh tasting tuna really compliment the spiciness of the risotto – DELICIOUS!!

Serves 1

Ingredients

the Tuna

1 lime, juice only

1 garlic clove, peeled & crushed

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt & pepper, freshly ground

200g fresh tuna steak

the Risotto

2 tbsp olive oil

150g risotto rice

3 spring onions, chopped

3 medium mushrooms of your choice, chopped

Pinch of chilli flakes (a big pinch if you like it spicy)

Pinch of curry powder (again a big pinch if you like spice)

100ml white wine

400ml chicken stock

Salt & pepper freshly ground

the Garnish

6-8 cherry tomatoes

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt & pepper freshly ground

½ lime, to garnish

Method

1.  Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas mark 6.

2.  For the tuna, mix together the lime juice, garlic, olive oil and salt & pepper in a shallow dish.  Add the tuna and turn over several times to coat in the marinade.  Place in the refrigerator until required.

3.  For the risotto heat the oil in a wok until it is smoking, add the risotto rice, spring onions and mushrooms and fry for 4-5 minutes.  Add the chilli flakes, curry powder and wine and bring to the boil, when the wine has been absorbed slowly add the stock.  Bring the mixture to a simmer and gradually add the stock continuously stirring.  At this point you may as well pour yourself a glass of wine and put some music on as you have some stirring to do – this should take 18-20 minutes until the rice is creamy and tender.

4.  In the meantime for the garnish, place the tomatoes into a roasting tin, drizzle over the oil and season.  Roast in the oven for 6-8 minutes.

5.  Sear the marinated tuna in a hot chargrill pan for 1 minute on each side or until browned all over and pink in the middle.  Remove from the pan to rest.

6.  To serve, spoon the spicy risotto into a shallow bowl and place the tuna steak on top.  Arrange the roasted tomatoes over the tuna and garnish with half a lime.

Cooks Tips

v  If you like things spicy taste the risotto when you are adding the stock and keeping on adding small pinches until you reach your required taste.

For all your kitchen & cooking needs please visit http://www.recipe-shop.co.uk

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This Week's Menu - Pantry & Freezer Meals

It's the end of the month so we're trying to be lean with our groceries this week! We're eating from the pantry and freezer!

Breakfasts: boiled eggs, Homemade Whole Grain Teff Muffins, Chocolate Hemp Shakes made w/ almond milk

Lunches: leftovers -or- sandwiches + apple slices and/or carrot sticks with hummus

Snacks: greek yogurt, apple slices w/ peanut butter, carrot sticks w/ hummus, babybell cheese, 1 oz. raw almonds or walnuts, 1 slice homemade gf toast w/ peanut butter & honey

Quick Dinners for the Week:

• Monday: Baked Almond Halibut (Basically I am simply going to cover the fish filets with sliced almonds, drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper and bake) will serve with green beans or broccoli (if I have any in the freezer).

• Tuesday: Homemade chili (made using leftover homemade hotdog chili, a can of pork & beans, leftover veggies from the freezer, and leftover brown rice) 

• Wednesday: One pot meal made with leftover beef soup/stock from the weekend to cook brown rice or quinoa, ground beef or ground turkey, and canned veggies

• Thursday: Super quick meal tonight since we have errands: sandwiches w/ apple slices or breakfast for dinner

• Friday: Homemade GF Pizza night -or- Homemade tuna salad for favorite tuna melts

• Saturday: FIELD TRIP to the GF Whole Foods Bakery with our Gluten Free Support Group! Hopefully gluten free pizza out for dinner!

• Sunday: Roast a chicken, serve with baked potatoes or sweet potatoes, spinach salad and/or green beans & almonds, my favorite baked apples

Check out more great menus that are gluten free at Angela's Kitchen and a crazy huge roundup of menus of all kinds over at Org Junkie!

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Gluten Free Whole Grain Teff Muffins Recipe

At a recent local gluten free support group meeting one of our wonderful members presented a program on different gluten free flours and how to use them. She brought a delicious batch of gluten free teff muffins from a Bette Hagman cookbook. The muffins were incredible. Deeply rich and distinctly tasted like the whole wheat bran muffins I remembered from my gluten days.

I decided to try the muffins this morning with my own personal revisions (since apparently it's impossible for me make ANY recipe as is... lol)

I am so impressed with these muffins. The only type of teff I could find locally was a bag of whole teff grains. The are TINY grains -- I believe they might be considered the smallest grains in the world. I pondered what exactly to do with them and then realized I could probably grind them in my vitamix since they were so small! I poured about 1 cup of grains into the vitamix and ground them slowly for a minute or two. The end result was a soft, slightly grainy flour.

It worked! I made a large batch of muffins so I could take them to work this week for breakfast. the texture of these muffins is incredible. It really does remind me of bran muffins by texture and taste! I am low on eggs at the moment, so I used Ener-G Egg Replacer and additional oil in place of eggs. It made the muffins not rise quite as high as they would have otherwise, but it didn't affect the flavor one bit! I also left gums out of these muffins and added my favorite ground flax seeds which means additional healthy fiber and omega-3's!

I've also started measuring my flours by weight in addition to volume for those of you who prefer to measure ingredients by weight. I'll always be a cup & teaspoons girl myself, but it is fun to see how much the different flours each weigh separately. I hope this will be a helpful addition my recipes.

Gluten Free Teff Muffins
free of gluten, dairy/casein, soy, corn, gums, potatoes, eggs
adapted from a Bette Hagman recipe from, "The Gluten Free Gourmet Cooks Comfort Foods"
(I made a large batch so that I could take these for breakfast this week)
Makes 18 regular sized muffins
printer-friendly recipe

Dry Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups (228 gm) teff flour
2/3 cup (80 gm) arrowroot starch
1/4 cup (28 gm) ground flax seeds
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup (102 gm) sugar

Wet Ingredients:
4 eggs -OR- 1/2 cup (145 gm) warm water + 2 tbsp. EnerG egg replacer whisked together
1/2 cup (95 gm) oil
1 cup (240 gm) non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)

Optional Add In's:
1/2 cup chopped nuts (55 gm) -- I used chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins (76 gm)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cupcake/muffin pans with paper liners or spritz with non-stick cooking spray. (I was able to make 18 of them). In a large bowl whisk together all dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl mix together all wet ingredients and pour into dry ingredients. Mix just until thoroughly combined. Fold in chopped nuts or raisins. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full with muffin batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the muffins comes out clean. The muffins with be dark brown -- almost "chocolately" in appearance. If you use eggs the muffins will have tall domed tops, if you use egg replacer as I did, they will just reach the top of the muffin liner and have a flat top -- either way they are still delicious!! Allow muffins to cool 10-15 minutes before eating. If they are not allowed to cool properly they will have a taste slightly gooey.

Nutrition Information Per Muffin using egg-replacer (18 Muffins):
171 calories, 9 grams fat, 2 grams fiber, 2 grams protein

Carrie's Ingredient Notes:

• Flours: I used teff flour as my main whole grain in this recipe. The flour gives these muffins the distinct bran-like flavor they have, but feel free to use the same amount of your favorite whole grain flour, although know they will have a slightly different taste. I use arrowroot starch exclusively as my starch of choice, although you could easily sub this with cornstarch, potato starch, or white rice flour.
• Sugar: In this initial recipe I used regular white sugar. You could also use brown sugar, coconut sugar, date sugar etc... feel free to use the sugar you like best. You could also reduce the sugar by a 1/3 in this recipe without having a big difference in the flavor of the muffins.
• Oil: I generally use canola oil or olive oil in my recipes. Feel free to use the oil of your choice. It should not adversely affect the texture or taste of these muffins. You could also use 1/4 cup oil + 1/4 cup applesauce to cut back on both fat content and calories.
• Ground Flax Seeds: These serve several purposes in this recipe. First they add a nuttiness and a lot of healthy fiber to the recipe. Secondly when ground flax seeds are introduced to a liquid they start to gel slightly, so they take the place of using xanthan gum for texture in this recipe. I don't advise leaving them out of the recipe. You could use 2 tbsp of ground chia seeds in place of the flax if you prefer.
• Non-Dairy Milk: Use regular milk or your preferred non-dairy milk. I always use almond milk since I can find it locally.

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Spicy Hot Lamb Korma with Rosewater

Spicy Hot Lamb Korma with Rosewater

This is a deliciously different alternative to the usual Lamb Korma you would get from your local takeaway.  Definitely worth a try!

Serves 4

Ingredients

3 green chillies, deseeded and finely chopped

75g almonds, lightly toasted

75g cashew nuts, lightly toasted

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

2cm ginger, peeled and finely chopped

125ml water

1kg boneless leg of lamb, diced into 3cm pieces

3 tbsp vegetable oil

Salt & pepper freshly ground

1 cinnamon stick

1 tbsp turmeric

4 cloves

1 bay leaf

2 tsp ground coriander

2 cardamom pods

2 onions, peeled and finely chopped

100ml natural yogurt

Pinch of saffron, soaked in 1 tbsp warm water

75 ml double cream

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp rosewater

Method

1.  Place the chillies, almonds, cashews, garlic, ginger and water into a food processor and blend into a fine wet paste.  Set aside.

2.  Heat half of the oil in a heavy based pan/wok until hot.  Season the lamb and fry in batches until browned all over.  Place the browned meat on a plate and set aside.  Add the remaining oil to the pan and add the cinnamon, turmeric, cloves, bay leaf, coriander and cardamom.  Stir fry for a minute until fragrant.  Add the onions and some seasoning, cook for 5-6 minutes stirring occasionally until soft and slightly golden.

3.  Mix the yogurt with the paste you prepared earlier, add the saffron water and mix, add to the pan and stir well.  Cook over a medium to low heat for about 5 minutes and then add the lamb pieces with any meat juices that have been released.  Stir well and gently simmer for 45 minutes – 1 hour until the meat is very tender.

4.  Before serving stir in the double cream, lemon juice and rosewater.  Heat gently and season to taste.  Serve immediately on warm plates with Indian breads and basmati rice.

Cooks Tips

v  If you like your curry really hot add another chilli.

For all your kitchen & cooking needs please visit http://www.recipe-shop.co.uk

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I'm Still Here!

I can't believe that it has been a month - a MONTH! - since my last post! Time flies when you're being worked to the bone and doing your best to make relaxing use of any and all downtime! I only have time for a brief post today (the backlog of recipes will have to wait!) but I wanted to check in. :)

The b*tchy blogosphere - has anyone else noticed how desperately depressing and negative the blogging circles have become lately? I have 700+ posts sitting in my rss reader that I can't seem to make any dent into, since I keep hitting these cynical and peer-sabotaging posts from the most surprising of sources. Blog reading used to be a relaxing and exciting passtime - now it tends to be another stress that I should do my best to live without. I don't feel like I'm missing much though, since most of the half-decent posts are about topics I already know about, or have surpassed in my own learning. One of the only blogs I'm keeping pace with is Matt Stone's 180 Metabolism, since some provocative statements have been coming out of there of late! I still love blogs where the quality of the comments draws you back for more.

Following on from that, I had a backlog of unpublished comments to approve, and found some ZC nutjob screaming at my PCO post, telling me that the amount of protein I was eating was too much (and where exactly did they get my quantity info? Not even I could tell you that number...), and and that same time I should be eating more beef and lean fish, plus lots of fat... Nice. Great that these 'anonymous' commenters take the time and effort to read all of my blog so they can make such helpful comments ;)

Now, I am still mid-experiment when it comes to what I'm eating lately - I'm trying to nourish my body as well as my mind, which means continuing to step off the orthorex-pedal and lessen the stress. I'm fatter than I think I have ever been in my life - my muffin-top is more of a full loaf - but my face is still more slender than it was 5 years ago. Everything else is generally blorpy. I've been buying more fat clothes so that I don't have to put myself through the pain of ill-fitting clothing every morning. While I'm not about to make my peace with being this fat, I'm trying not to think about it whilst still monitoring some other health markers. I'm not going anywhere near scales though - I don't think I've been on one at all this year. Anyroad, the image that is developing is that I will need to be very careful about hormonal balance when it comes to my body, metabolic processes and fertility, so I have a bit of a path worked out so that  I can sustainably pursue the shedding of excess fat without shocking my system, etc. I'm totally drug-free, even though this means my damaged nerve ending will stay damaged for a while yet, and possibly become more sensitive as time goes on.

Now for something entirely stream-of-consciousness:

I've been making popcorn in a cast iron crock pot, with coconut oil and raw butter! It makes me feel so retro! :)

I have broken my 11-year make-up habit and have pared my routine back to just a finely buffed layer of mineral powder by Bare Minerals. A touch of eye, and I'm good to go. I also now own nine pairs of prescription eyewear, so I can still add some visual interest to my face without straying into drag queen territory. My skin is thanking me! My summer tan has worn off, so it's time to take out the blonde lights in my hair - my project for today! Even the natural dyes stink though - blech...I'm a theatre baby though - I love dressing up!

I'm noticing a very strong force of satiety hitting me during or after meals of late. On primal/paleo/carnivore WOEs I would feel satisfied, but not like I would throw up if I kept eating. And I don't mean 'stuffed' in either case. It's very interesting to me. I've also found that my body really doesn't like the prospect of eating meat lately, although once it is cooked and I'm tasting it, I love it. I feel a bit ill some mornings and late-afternoons, suggesting blood glucose fluctations or something, so I think I'll go invest in a BG tester and have a look at what's going on there. Some days I'm not interested in food til after work; others, I feel like I'll collapse or chuck unless I get something down before school. I've followed the insulin theories and the Matt Stone theories, but my responses haven't lined up well with either, so it's time for bloodwork I reckon. I still eat mostly whole-foods, so I tend not to blame my diet just yet... We'll see!

The school play is in full-swing and I've been spending a lot of time working on the music. It's a huge job but I love it!

Last weekend, my family stayed in Daylesford, in a luxury holiday house that had a room for each of the three couples, and one for the cat ;) We went horse riding on the Saturday - I had to ride in my Vibram KSOs since they didn't have boots for us, like most trail riding places do. It was lovely to wear them and feel the horse's flank more clearly; however, my saddle was too small to cater for my extra thigh blorp and consequently I was in a lot of pain when it came time to canter and I had to try and grip the horse with my legs. Ick. On the Sunday, I took my jewellery to the Daylesford Sunday Market and spent the day (including far too many pre-dawn hours) showing off my stuff to folks wandering between junk stalls and carnival food trailers. I sold quite a bit though, and it was nice to see people finding pieces they really like and trying them on. It's much nicer to see how pieces will look in person than dealing with the mystery of Internet purchases, for seller and buyer! Market stalls are a lot of preparation, cost and work though, but if I didn't work full-time I could image doing the market circuit... Now to set up at a market in the city..!

Despite all my time commitments, my kitten still rules my world. :)

I had better leave it there - lots of essay to mark, and I'd like to get them all done today so that I can go and participate in a massive dance 'performance' (more like 'interactive event') in the city tonight. Should be fun!

Hope all is well in your world and that you're finding the fun!

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Gym Hamster - Week 8 Update

Bad to the Bone!

THIS is a cool hamster!! :-)

It's week 8 at the gym. That's hard for me to believe. It seems like more of a habit now than something I'm forced to go too! I'm proud that I've made it 3 times this week and I'm going again after work today!

One thing that stands out to me this week is I'm starting to gain some confidence in myself and my abilities. On days that I cardio alone, I do a full 60 minutes. I started with 20 minutes!

I'm pushing myself harder, I'm trying more activities, and I look forward to the gym (well, most days anyway! )

My attitude is better than it has been in years. I've lost 12 pounds since January 1... it's slow progress, but I'm okay with that. I hope that slow progress means permanent progress!

The past few weeks I've also had the help of nutritionist Cheryl Harris. She's been coaching me each week on the positive progress I've made and focusing on challenging areas I can work on. This week we talked about mindless eating. She recommended reading "Mindless Eating" by Brian Wansink. Amazingly with Amazon Prime my copy came in one day, so I've started reading. So far the book has started talking about the "cues" that we don't think about that can encourage us to eat more without thinking about it: a larger plate or container, a fancy label, other people eating/drinking around us, etc... It's been a really interesting read so far and it's really making me think about why I eat more than I should at times.

And you. Thank you for reading these updates. I know recipes have been few & far between lately and I really appreciate all your support in this journey I'm making. I know eventually I'll be able to make time again to focus on baking and creating recipes... but I so appreciate your patience as I figure this healthy living lifestyle out! Knowing I have a huge group of cheerleaders behind me is huge and makes a world of difference.

I appreciate you!

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Big Fat Bread Twists & Hummus

Big Fat Bread Twists & Hummus

This is a delicious snack or dinner party canapés!

Hummus Serves 4

Makes 12 Bread Twists

Ingredients

450g/1lb Strong White Bread Flour, plus extra for dusting

1 x 7g sachet of dried yeast

1 ½ tsp salt

250ml warm water

Vegetable or spray oil

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp sea salt

2 tbsp freshly ground pepper

Hummus

1 x 410g tin of chickpeas, rinse & drain

4 tbsp water

2 large cloves of garlic, peeled

3 tbsp tahini

3 tbsp lemon juice

Salt to taste

1 tbsp olive oil

(to garnish)

Fresh chopped Parsley

Olive oil

Pine nuts, toasted

paprika

Method

Big Fat Bread Twists

1.  Put the flour, yeast and water into a bowl and add enough warm water to make the mixture soft but not sticky.  Knead the dough for 10 minutes on a floured surface.  Or place in a mixer and blend for 5 minutes.

2.  Divide the dough into 12 equal portions and roll into balls.  Place the each ball onto a floured surface and roll into a sausage shape about 25cm x 2cm/10in x 1in.

3.  Run a knife down the centre of the dough leaving one end uncut.  Plait the two halves over each other to create a twisted effect.  Place the bread sticks onto 2 flour dusted baking trays spacing them 4cm/1 ½ in apart.  Cover the bread twists loosely with oiled cling film, make sure that this is airtight.  Leave in a warm place for 30 minutes until they have doubled in size.

4.  Preheat oven to 200°C/Gas mark 6.

5.  Remove the cling film and brush each twist with olive oil.  Sprinkle half with salt and half with pepper.  Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the bread twists are golden brown and firm to touch.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Hummus

1.  Heat the chickpeas and four tablespoons of water in a saucepan.

2.  When they are warmed through place the chickpeas and 2 tablespoons of water into a food processor, blend until roughly combined.  Add the garlic, tahini and lemon juice and a couple of large pinches of salt and blend again.  Add olive oil and blend again until the hummus reaches your desired texture.

3.  Serve in a dish topped with a drizzle of olive oil, parsley, toasted pine nuts and a sprinkling of paprika.  Enjoy!

Cooks Tips

v  Vary the topping of the bread twists with fresh rosemary & thyme or sesame seeds & poppy seeds.

For all your kitchen & cooking needs please visit http://www.recipe-shop.co.uk

Big Fat Bread Twists

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The Best Ever Lasagne Recipe

The Best Ever Lasagne

I have tried so many different lasagne recipes over the years, and have now perfected the ULTIMATE Lasagne recipe!!

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

Tomato Sauce

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

½ fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

4 tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes

Few sprigs of thyme, leaves removed and finely chopped

1 x star anise

2 x bay leaves

Splash of Worcestershire sauce

½ tsp caster sugar

Freshly ground salt & pepper

Meat Sauce

1 tbsp olive oil

70g diced pancetta

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped

2 celery sticks, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

500g lean minced beef

2 tbsp tomato puree

375ml red wine

200ml beef stock

3 sprigs of oregano, leaves removed and chopped

2 bay leaves

Pinch of caster sugar

Freshly ground salt & pepper

Cheese Sauce

75g butter

3 heaped tbsp plain flour

1 ½ pints/ ¾ litre of milk

2 heaped tsp mustard

Freshly ground salt & pepper

250g mature cheddar cheese, grated

12 sheets fresh lasagne

235g mozzarella cheese, sliced

Grated parmesan topping

 Method

1.  Firstly make the tomato sauce.  Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan and add the onion, garlic and chilli and fry over a gentle heat until lightly golden.  Add the fresh and chopped tomatoes.  When the tomatoes begin to release their juices add the sugar, thyme, star anise, splash of Worcestershire sauce and season to taste.

2.  Cook over a gentle heat for 10-15 minutes until the tomato sauce is reduced and thick.  Remove the bay leaves and star anise and set aside.

3.  Meanwhile make the meat sauce.  Heat the oil in a heavy based frying pan or wok.  Fry the pancetta until golden and then add the onion, carrot, garlic and celery and sauté for 3-5 minutes until soft but not coloured.

4.  Add the beef and cook for 5-8 minutes or until the meat is browned.  Add the tomato puree and stir for 1 minute then add the red wine.  Reduce the liquid slowly over a gentle heat until thick.  Do not allow to boil so that the meat can fully absorb the wine.

5.  Add the ready prepared tomato sauce and beef stock, oregano, bay leaves, sugar and season to taste.  Let the sauce cook for 1½ - 2 hours on a low heat with the lid on.  Once cooked remove the bay leaves.

6.  Preheat oven to 200°C/Gas mark 6.

7.  To make the cheese sauce melt the butter in a large heavy based pan, remove from the heat and add the flour.  Replace the pan on to a low heat and gradually add the milk whilst continuously whisking.  Once all the milk is in the sauce add the mustard continuously stir the sauce until it starts to thicken.  Add the cheese and then season to taste.

8.  Now it is time to construct the lasagne.  Spoon a fine layer of meat sauce on the base of the lasagne dish then place 3 lasagne sheets on top.  Spoon a third of the meat sauce on top of the sheets and add 3 spoonfuls of cheese sauce and a third of the mozzarella slices.  Repeat this step twice more and then add another layer of lasagne sheets.  Add the remainder of the cheese sauce and sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan.

9.  Place lasagne dish in the oven for 30 minutes until golden and bubbling.  Turn off the oven and let rest for 10-15 minutes.  The lasagne is now ready to serve!

Cooks Tips

v  You can prepare the Bolognese sauce the day before; this will give it extra time for all the flavours to marinade.

For all your kitchen & cooking needs please visit http://www.recipe-shop.co.uk

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