Lamb & Harissa Lasagne with Feta and Oregano

I found this recipe in the May edition of delicious magazine – I think it’s supposed to be an ad for Ardmona – but it sounded nice, so we made it… you should too – not only is it really delicious, but it’s also excellent value for money!

You will need:

  • 1 tbs olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely grated
  • 750g lamb mince
  • 2 x 400g cans Ardmona Chopped Tomatoes
  • 1/3 cup (100g) harissa
  • 200g marinated roasted capsicum, chopped
  • 2½ cups (600g) fresh ricotta
  • 1¾ cups (350g) Danish feta
  • 2/3 cup (165ml) milk
  • 375g packet instant lasagne sheets
  • 1 cup oregano leaves
  • ¼ cup (20g) finely grated parmesan
  • Green salad leaves (optional) to serve

And this is what you do:

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and lamb, and cook, stirring, for 5-6 minutes until browned. Stir through tomato, harissa and capsicum. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes or until thickened. Set aside to cool slightly.

Place ricotta, feta and milk in a bowl and stir until smooth. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Spread a layer of the lamb mixture over the base of a 34cm x 28cm deep baking dish. Top with a layer of lasagne sheets, then one-third of the ricotta mixture and one-third oregano. Repeat layering twice more, finishing with a layer of ricotta mixture. Sprinkle with parmesan and cover with baking paper and foil. Bake for 30 minutes or until a sharp knife pierces pasta easily. Remove from oven, discard baking paper and foil, and increase oven to 200°C.  Top lasagne with remaining oregano and drizzle with oil. Bake for a further 15 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Serve lasagne with green salad, if using.

Notes: The recipe states that this will feed 8-10 people, and Julian made this exactly as instructed above. Although we both thought that it was absolutely delicious, we felt that there wasn’t quite enough meat in it, so the next time he makes it (which you can bet your sweet bippy will be very soon!) he’ll be using 1 kilo of the lamb mince instead of the 750g stated in the recipe. Even so, that one dish served the two of us four times, in all – so we thought it was extremely good value for money. Do try it – it’s an easy recipe, and even though 1/3 of a cup of harissa might sound like a lot, believe me, it’s not! I’m not overly fond of very spicy food, and I could only just pick up a hint of “warmth” from the harissa.

Enjoy!