I love lasagna, especially a really cheesy delicious one. This recipe is a new take on my American-style Cheesy Beef Lasagna which is so amazing and needs no upgrade. That said, I wondered what a sausage & mint version would taste like and my instincts did not lead me astray. It’s delicious!
The minty flavours in this lasagna are a bit subtle – they’re there, but not overpowering. If you’re not a fan of mint, you could absolutely leave the dried mint out completely and the dish would not suffer. The real superstar here is the sausage.
The oozing cheese between the layers of pasta is so comforting and indulgent. This is definitely a recipe to make and enjoy either with a group of people or better yet, with leftovers saved for another day. I find it is even better when reheated to a piping hot temperature in the microwave. It’s the ultimate leftover lunch!
Sausage & Mint lasagna makes 6 servings, so it’s a great thing to cook for a dinner party since you could have it assembled and just pop it into the oven when you’re ready after guests arrive. Serve it with some salad on the side. Garlic bread would also be nice with this dish or even some Chilli Garlic Green Beans. However you enjoy it, it’s sure to be a hit because you can never go wrong with ooey gooey cheesy pasta. Let’s get started!
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 50g unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus a little more for drizzling
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled & minced
- 400g Cumberland sausages, skins removed and meat crumbled
- 1/4 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 150ml white wine
- 500g passata
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar or regular granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoons dried mint
- 250g ricotta cheese
- 500g shredded mozzarella
- 300g fresh lasagna sheets
Method
- Add the butter and oil to a large pot that has a lid over medium-high heat. When it starts to sizzle, add the garlic and cook while stirring with a wooden spoon for about a minute before adding the crumbled sausage meat. Cook while pushing around with the wooden spoon, using it to further break up the meat until it’s browned all over.
- Add the chilli flakes and dried mint and stir before adding the tomato paste and stirring again to combine everything. Cook for another minute or two.
- Crank up the heat to high and pour in the white wine. Let it bubble away until it’s slightly thicker and reduced and then add the passata along with about 1/3 of the container full of water to catch the dregs. Add the sugar, season with salt & pepper and give it a stir. Bring to the boil and then reduce, cover and cook for about 25 minutes stirring once or twice during that time.
- Meanwhile, add the ricotta cheese and 250g of the shredded mozzarella to a mixing bowl and stir together as best you can, sort of mashing it to combine with a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but you want a good mixture of both. Set aside until the sauce is ready.
- Just before the sauce is finished, preheat the oven to 200°C / 180°C Fan / 400°F.
- Once the sauce has cooked for 25 minutes it’s time to assemble the lasagna. Prepare a rectangular baking tray or casserole dish by spraying it with a little non-stick cooking spray or rubbing with a bit of oil. Start by ladling a little bit of sauce into the bottom of the dish – just a scant amount of the liquid to coat the bottom of the first layer of lasagna sheets. Add a layer of lasagna sheets on top, spoon about 1/2 of the cheese mixture in blobs evenly across the lasagna and cover this with about 1/3 of the remaining sauce. Add another layer of lasagna sheets, followed by the rest of the cheese mixture and another 1/3 of the sauce. Add one more layer of pasta on top and ladle the rest of the sauce on top of the last layer of pasta. Sprinkle the remaining 250g of mozzarella across the top and drizzle with a little olive oil to help the cheese get golden and crispy on top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until the cheese has melted completely and started to get golden & a little crispy. Cut into 6 squares and serve hot on warmed plates.
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