There seems to be a real trend in home cooking these days and a resurgence of traditional dishes. Maybe because we were all scared witless that last year we were heading back into the great depression and longed to soothe ourselves with food our nanna used to cook.

Either way, I played my part by including this lasagna as a weekly staple in our menu. The super nerd loves lasagna, actually I’ve never met a man that didn’t like my lasagna, so ladies if you are looking to impress on a first date this is the dish for you. It’s not sexy like oysters and cavier, but remember girls, this is man food.

Serves 4, or 2 with excellent leftovers

Ingredients
500g lean mince beef
tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic, chopped or squashed
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 glass red wine
2 400ml cans tomatoes (I like the whole roma tomatoes)
1 grated carrot

Instant lasagna sheets

White sauce
1/3 cup butter (a generous amount)
1/3 cup plain flour plus a tablespoon
4 cups milk

Hard cheese of choice - Parmesan or similar, cheddar will also do.

Preheat oven to 200C.

Make the spaghetti bolognese according to the instructions and then add the grated carrot at the end.

To make the white sauce, melt the butter over medium heat until melted. Add the flour to make a roux - basically just stir the flour into the melted butter until it’s all mixed. If your sauce is very runny add a bit more flour. Then add your milk. Now, the traditional Frenchie’s will tell you to add 1/2 a cup until the sauce thickens, then add another 1/2 cup until it thickens, then 1 cup blah blah blah…but really if you add all the milk at once and give it a good whisk it will turn out fine. It will take about 5 minutes to thicken and you will need to watch it and whisk often.

Ok, now layer and layer. In an ovenproof dish (roughly the same size as the sheets of lasagna you have) add a layer of bolognese, a layer of white sauce and a sheet of lasagna, then just continue until you are all out of one. I usually do about three layers and then remember I need extra white sauce for the top. I hope you have read ahead because you will need extra sauce too! The last layer is lasagna sheet, white sauce and then some hard cheese. You want to sprinkle your hard cheese so it will need to be grated or cut into thin bits.

All in the oven for about 35 minutes and then take it out and let it rest for about 10 minutes before you serve to your loved one…during which time you can open a bottle of wine, light some candles, put on some Ella Fitzgerald and let the smell arouse you…

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There’s nothing special about this recipe, except for the fact you can cook it in half an hour and it will make you feel warm and cosy. Which is probably very wrong for tonight as it’s still about 25 degrees and rather humid…But it’s Friday night, I’m not going out and I felt like drinking red.

On the wine list is a Bluemanna 2001 Merlot, another stella purchase from GraysOnline… anyway it seems like it will do the trick to unwind on a Friday evening.

Serves 4

Ingredients
500g lean mince beef
tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, sliced thinly
1 teaspoon sugar
3 cloves garlic, chopped or squashed
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 glass red wine
2 400ml cans tomatoes (I like the whole roma tomatoes)
spaghetti
Parmesan (optional)

Method
Put a big pot of water on to boil for your spaghetti, add some rock salt.

Open wine and pour glass for one. On low heat gently heat oil and add onions. Cook slowly for 5 mins pushing them around and sipping wine. Add teaspoon of sugar and stir until dissolved. Add garlic and stir for about 30 seconds. Add mince and turn up heat. I always mash the mince as it cooks so you don’t end up with great big lumps of it. Sip more wine as mashing mince. It will take about 4 mins for the mince to cook. When it’s no longer pink, add 1/2 glass wine (not yours) and stir until the smell disappears, roughly a minute or so.

Add tomato paste and mix well. Add the tins of tomatoes and mash them up - you don’t want whole tomatoes popping up in your bolognese. It’s pretty much finished now, so just add a bit of salt and pepper and turn down to simmer.

Your water should now be boiling to put the spaghetti in. This should take around 6-10 mins to cook, but test it anyway by taking it out and eating.

Drain the spaghetti and serve onto plates (although I prefer bowls). Top with bolognese and then Parmesan, and don’t forget to eat with a glass of red.

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Now onto the other dish. Admittedly, this one was not a success, but I’ve altered it so I’m sure next time it will be better. If it still fails just add more meat oh, and sugar, truly, can’t fail.

Ingredients
150g thinly sliced beef
200g udon noodles
2 cups dashi*
2 tablespoons soy
1 tablespoon sugar
4 tablespoons mirin
4 shallots sliced thinly
bunch bok choy
sesame seeds

Method
Cook udon noodles in boiling water for about 2 mins or until tender. Drain and divide into two bowls. Heat dashi until boiling, then add mirin, soy and sugar. Turn down to simmer and stir until sugar dissolves. Simmer for two mins and then add beef and bok choy. It will take about two mins for that to cook and you’re ready. Pour over your noodles and chuck on some sesame seeds for decoration.

*Dashi (Soup Stock)

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