I've been on holiday, the sun shone and our view from the apartment was a dream whether we sat on the small balcony or looked out through the patio door that spanned the whole width of our living area. We went to the Mumbles in Swansea and it's a great place to visit for food and views.
No, I didn't make this lasagne whilst I was away, although the kitchen was amazing with everything you could wish for. We ate out for all our meals and why not when you are spoilt for choice in this fabulous location.
This is a great way to make lasagne with a twist by using the last of the tortillas instead of pasta sheets.
The meat base has a spicy kick, tortillas are far lighter to eat than pasta, the indulgent topping is made up of three different cheeses and the finished dish can be frozen.
The recipe is made in the conventional way - I've tried cooking mince beef in the Thermomix and it's okay if you like baby food!
If you are making this with small children in mind it's easy to leave out the chilli and simply puree the onions and red pepper to hide them.
Adapted from Mary Berry's Foolproof Cooking
For the mince layer
1 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
500g/1lb 2oz beef mince
1 mild red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded and diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 tbsp mango chutney
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
1 small bunch fresh coriander, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
To assemble
3 large tortilla wraps
250g full-fat mascarpone
100g mozzarella, grated
100g cheddar, grated
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 160C.
2. Pour the oil into a large ovenproof pan over a medium heat, add the chopped onions and fry for 3 minutes. Turn up the heat, add the mince beef and fry until brown, breaking up the meat.
3. Add the chilli, red pepper, garlic and spices and fry for 5 minutes, or until all the moisture has evaporated and the mixture is quite dry. Stir in the tomato purée, mango chutney, tinned tomatoes and salt and black pepper. Cover, bring to the boil and place in the oven for an hour.
4. Remove the pan from the oven and stir in half the chopped coriander. Raise the oven temperature to 200C.
5. Spread a third of the cooked mince beef mixture over the bottom of the ovenproof dish and lay one tortilla wrap on top. Spread a third of the mascarpone over the tortilla and sprinkle with a third of each of the mozzarella and Cheddar cheeses. Repeat twice more so you have 3 layers.
6. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling. Set aside for 5 minutes before serving and garnish with the remaining coriander.
7. Serve with a salad.
