Walking on Water, Episode 1- Lemon

Hey people! Here’s an introduction to the Chronicles of Dania project.

The theme of this week’s video is Risk, so it made sense to feature a ‘risky’ recipe I tried out the other day. If I’m being completely honest, it was borne out of laziness refusing to be wasteful. I had some leftover greek yoghurt from another dish (which I also feature in one of the episodes). I also had a craving for lasagne, and seeing as greek yoghurt has a short shelf life, I decided to see if it would work in place of the traditional béchamel (white sauce) used for lasagne.

Did it work? Try it yourself and see, especially if you’re looking for a lighter, healthier version of lasagne. It certainly passed my taste test, as I’ve made it multiple times since that night, plus it features here, so…

I would add the caveat though, that it is not the perfect lasagne. It’s more of a shortcut if you don’t have time (or energy) to go through the steps of making the classic lasagne dish, or are in the mood to try out something a little different. The yoghurt adds a certain tang (which I liked) and it does curdle a little, which I didn’t mind at all.

If you’re looking for a classic lasagne recipe, this one by the good people of allrecipes is one of my favourites. But I really hope you try out this greek yoghurt version, and let me know what you think in the comment section below!

That’s it for this first episode! See you back here next Thursday for the next video and recipe in the series. Cheers!

Greek Yoghurt Lasagne

For the beef mince sauce:

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, diced (optional)

3 garlic cloves, grated

250g minced beef

50ml water (or red wine)

2 tbsp tomato paste

6 fresh tomatoes, chopped

3 peppers, chopped

Salt

Seasoning

For the layers:

250ml Greek Yoghurt*

Handful parsley, chopped

6 wide sheets lasagne

125g mozzarella, grated

50g parmesan, coarsely grated

• Make the meat sauce: heat oil in a large sauté pan, then put in onion and fry until golden. Add carrots and garlic, then fry for 2 mins more. Stir in the ground beef and break it up with a spoon. (You may use any other ground meats of your choice for a nice variation, like ground pork or even turkey. I’ve added in some chopped bacon once, and sausages another time, with the ground beef. I liked the results both times). Cook over a high heat until the meat is no longer pink, and the juices are released. Pour in water, scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir, then cook for 1-2 mins until the liquid is reduced. Add the tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, peppers, and stir. Season to your taste, then simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

• While the sauce is simmering, prepare the other layers. Mix the cheeses with Greek yoghurt, remaining a bit of cheese to sprinkle at the end. Soak the lasagne sheets in a single layer in boiling water for 5 mins. (Even if the packet says no pre-cook, soaking improves the texture.) Drain well. Heat oven to 180°C.

• Start layering: Spread a few big spoonfuls of minced beef sauce to barely cover the base of an ovenproof dish. Cover with 2 sheets (or more, depending on the size of your dish) of lasagne, then spread another layer of your mince sauce, followed by the yoghurt mix, and sprinkle some parsley over. Make two more layers of same- lasagne sheets, mince sauce, yoghurt mix. End with a covering of lasagne sheets, and then spread what’s left of your yoghurt mix on the top. Sprinkle leftover cheese and cover loosely with foil.

• Bake for 35 mins, then remove foil and bake 5-10 mins more. Leave for a few mins, then garnish with parsley and serve.

*Depending on the consistency of the brand you have, you may need to loosen it with a bit of meat stock or water, to make it easy to spread.