I had never made lasagna before but in the last few days I got 2 lasagna pins on my foodie sash. I don’t think The Koala minds the new lasagna obsession one bit.

My first was a classic attempt. The meat sauce made in the morning so the flavours had all day to develop. This time being a weeknight, I wanted something much, much faster.

I had 2 lasagna sheets left over from the other night and only 200 grams of lamb mince so I bulked up the meat with bacon. Lamb and bacon are two of the tastiest meats around.

Using white sauce and a vintage cheddar made for a strong tasting sauce rather than the mild ricotta based sauce I made the other night.

Bacon and Lamb Lasagna for two

Ingredients

2 sheets fresh lasagna

Meat sauce

250 grams (half a pound) lamb mince
4 strips streaky bacon, chopped into postage stamps
1 onion, diced
4 garlic bulbs, chopped
1/2 a cup tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
Salt (about a teaspoon) 

Cheese sauce

1 cup grated vintage cheddar
1/2 cup grated mozzarella
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 knob butter
1 handful fresh parsley, chopped

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C / 350°F.
2. Add a little oil to a large, hot frying pan and add the bacon, mince, onion and garlic. I added just under a teaspoon of truffle salt and a generous grind of black pepper. Fry and flip until all the pink is gone from the meat.
3. Add all the tomato paste and the red wine. Mix well and once it is bubbling away, turn the heat down. Add about a cup or so of water (I use the tomoato paste container as a cup to use up every last bit of paste). Let the sauce simmer while you make the cheese sauce (stir occasionally)…
4. In a small saucepan, melt a knob of butter. Once melted, whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour.
5. Once it starts to bubble nicely, add 1 cup of milk. Whisk.
6. Add the cheddar or any other cheese you have on hand.
7. Whisk together to form a smooth sauce. Add the chopped parsley. Turn off heat.
8. Grease the bottom of an oven proof dish with a little butter. I used the smallest square oven proof dish I had for this lasagna, but it was still too roomy so I pushed the stack to one side so it could use a wall for support. Maybe you have a dish that is perfect for this little lasagna. 
9. Cut the 2 lasagna sheets in half. There will be 4 layers of pasta. In your mind, roughly divide the meat sauce and the cheese sauce into 4 as there will be 4 layers of each. Start layering the pasta/meat sauce/cheese sauce etc until you end up with a layer of pasta followed by cheese sauce at the top. Sprinkle grated mozzarella and more parsley if you wish on the top layer. 
10. Cover securely with foil and bake for 35 minutes.
11. Remove foil and bake for a further 15 minutes to give that cheesy top layer a pretty golden colour.
12. Cut in the lasagna in half and serve with wine.