Lasagne recipe kit

Package up a homemade lasagne kit to give as a gift to those who need a culinary confidence boost or keen cooks who need a break from the kitchen

Prep:1 hrs
Cook:35 mins

More effort

Nutrition per serving

kcal 537
fat 28g
saturates 14g
carbs 44g
sugars 11g
fibre 3g
protein 19g
salt 0.8g

Ingredients

250g pack dried lasagne sheets
2 x 400g tin whole cherry tomatoes (I used Biona organic)
2 x 187ml bottle red wine
2 x 80g packs grated Parmesan
4 tbsp dried wild mushrooms
2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp light brown sugar
1 tsp dried oregano
4 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, sliced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
100g butter
100g plain flour
1l whole milk
2 bay leaves
grating of nutmeg
sticky tape
string or ribbon and wrapping paper
gift tags and a pen, for labelling
2 x 18 x 25 x 6cm lasagne dishes
2 x 135ml jars
2 x 500ml jars

Tip

Presenting your gift

Once you've assembled the dish, be sure to print out our decorative PDF assembly instructions to nestle alongside your lasagne ingredients...

How to sterilise jars

Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1. Wash the jars in hot, soapy water, then rinse well. Place the jars on a baking sheet and put them in the oven to dry completely. If using Kilner jars, boil the rubber seals, as dry heat damages them.

Method

Open the pack of lasagne sheets and divide between two large pieces of greaseproof paper. Wrap into 2 parcels and secure with sticky tape then wrap in wrapping paper and tie with string or ribbon, adding a label, if you like. Place each parcel into a lasagne dish along with a tin of tomatoes and a bottle of wine.
To make the seasoning sachet, place the dried mushrooms into a small food processor. Blitz until finely chopped then transfer to a small bowl. Stir in the remaining sachet ingredients and mix well then divide between 2 pieces of tin foil. Fold the foil parcels up to contain the mushroom and spice mix inside then wrap each one in wrapping paper. Label and place into the lasagne dishes.
Sterilise your jars and keep warm until needed (see tip). Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over a low heat then add the onion and cook gently for 20 mins until really soft. Stir in the garlic and heat for a further 5 mins. Divide the hot onions between the smaller jars, seal and leave to cool.
Now make the béchamel sauce. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat. Add the flour and mix really well. Add the milk gradually until you have a smooth sauce then add the bay leaves. Simmer gently and allow to thicken, then season well with salt, black pepper and nutmeg. Divide between the large jars making sure a bay leaf goes into each one. Seal, leave to cool then label as ‘Béchamel sauce’. Once cool, refrigerate the jars until needed then add one to each lasagne dish along with a pack of Parmesan. Write or print out the recipe below and fix to a gift tag.