Recipe: Braised Beef Mini Lasagna

These personal Mini Lasagnas are easy to make and super satisfying. Use leftovers from your Braised Beef Ragu with Rigatoni to whip up this dish, or follow the instructions below to make from scratch.

Ingredients

Braised beef:

• 3 lb chuck roast, large cubes, 2 inch square
• Splash of olive oil
• ½ cup red wine
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼-½ cup tomato paste
• 1 L low sodium beef stock
• Salt (to taste)
• Pepper (to taste)

Bouquet garni:

• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 2 springs thyme

Lasagna:

• 1 package pre-cooked fresh lasagna noodles
• 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
• Handful of fresh basil leaves

Preparation

Braised beef:

Cut chuck roast into 2 inch square cubes. Add splash of olive oil to hot dutch oven and sear beef cubes until golden brown. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon, set aside. Add vegetables, and deglaze with wine.

Stir, scraping up the brown bits. Add tomato paste and cook until softened. Add stock, salt and pepper and bouquet garni and simmer on stovetop or transfer to oven and simmer for 1-2 hours or until beef is tender. With two forks, pull apart beef until all is shredded.

Lasagna:

Using a ring mould (or a tin can with top and bottom cut off with a can opener) assemble lasagna. Coat mould with cooking spray so lasagna does not stick after baking. Cut out 16-20 circles the same size as your mould. Assemble as follows.

Repeat layers of pasta, sauce, cheese until you reach about 2 cm below the top of your mould. Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes. Let rest at least 10 minutes before removing mould. Serve with a salad.