Me and my mum share a passion for food!

With just over a week to go before we celebrate everything that’s great about our mums, my attention turns to my own mum and what makes her great.

I’ve come to appreciate the amazing work my mum has done in creating such a fine specimen that is me (tongue in cheek), especially since I became a father almost two years ago and have witnessed first hand the amazing work mums do.

I think I’ve mentioned before that me and my mum share a passion for food. I’ve learnt an awful lot from my mum about everything food related. She’s done a fine job at passing down all the great tips she learnt herself from my grandma, who in turn was also an amazing cook. Grandma was brought up with a strong Italian influence and looking back that was without doubt a theme growing up.

Inspired by the Waitrose #ThanksMum campaign which celebrates mums’ wonderful dishes across the nation, I’d like to say #ThanksMum for this amazing lasagne recipe that has for years given us some amazing meal time moments.

From 24th February to 6th March Waitrose is running a competition asking its social communities to share with them the dish that their mum cooks best and why it is so special to them.

Throughout the campaign Waitrose will be surprising and delighting its social communities with a number of gifts to make Mother’s Day even more special, such as flower bouquets, gift hampers and giving them the chance to win a grand prize which will be a day trip to the Waitrose’s King’s Cross Cookery School in London for a cooking class of their choice for them and their mum to enjoy together. For more information visit waitrose.com/thanksmum

Lasagna Ingredients

  • 500g minced beef
  • 1 large onion
  • Mushrooms (optional)
  • Garlic (to taste)
  • 1 oxo cube
  • 400 ml water
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  • Pinch of mixed herbs
  • Pack of fresh lasagna sheets
  • About 1 pint cheese sauce
  • Grated cheese

Method

  1. Fry onions and garlic in a small amount of oil for a few minutes.
  2. Add minced beef fry until browned.
  3. Crumble in oxo and add water. Add mushrooms and simmer for a few minutes.
  4. Put in tomato purée and chopped tomatoes and simmer for about twenty mins season to taste.
  5. Pour a small amount of cheese sauce in the bottom of a dish and spread out with the back of a spoon.
  6. Put four lasagna sheets on top pour half of the meat mixture on top and spread.
  7. Pour some sauce on then four more sheets pour the rest of the meat sauce on then four more lasagna sheets then the cheese sauce spread out and top with grated cheese
  8. Bake in a hot oven 180c for 30 to 40 mins.

Much to mum’s frustration I couldn’t help but meddle with the recipe last time I made it, adding lots of basil and topping it with mozzarella and sliced tomato, I also served it with a Asian slaw from a recipe I found on food network. Delicious!

Not quite how Momma used to serve it, but close enough.