Neil has finally documented a version of this recipe. He has not inserted 100 pages of tedious life history before you get to the recipe ...
16 Servings - 870 kCal per serving and 4 of 5 a day - it's a super food.
======== GLUTEN FREE VERSION ========
Use gluten free pasta sheets and self raising flour for the cheese sauce. The other ingredients are naturally gluten free.
This is the best bits from lasagna, mousaka, pizza and carne con chili.
======== SHOPPING LIST ========
Steak Mince - 1500 g
Oil - - just enough for frying
Onions - 1.2 kg
Chillies - 65 g - medium hot or one grim reaper chili.
Garlic - 1 - entire bulb
Mushrooms - 200 g
Tomatoes - 1600 g - Cirio are good - own-brand are not.
Wine or Cider - 500 ml - or one bottle
Cranberries - 100 g - dried sweetened or seasonally fresh
Tomato puree - 200 g - double concentrate.
Aubergines - 1000 g - sliced to cover the base of the dish. (four small or three large) .
Coconut milk - 400 ml
Pasta - 1000 g
Baby spinach - 480 g
Bacon - 500 g
Butter - 150 g
Self raising flour - 125 g
English mustard - 4 teaspoons - powder
Milk - 4 pints - not all will be needed
Cheese - 500 g
Ramiro Red Pepper - 440 g
Jalapeno olives - 200 g
OPTIONAL
Haggis chunks - not gluten free
Black pudding - gluten free available
Chorizo - check carefully
Parmesan, grated
Mozzarella
Ground cumin and/or ground coriander
Other dried or seasonal fruits.
======== METHOD ========
Steak Mince - 1500g
Fry in oil
It should spit and hiss and absolutely NOT boil!
There should be blackened caramelised bits for flavour.
Set aside when done.
While the mince is frying prepare the next three ingredients.
Use the mince pan for this stage.
DON'T wash it up. You want the burned bits to get flavour into the onions!
Chopped Onions, Chilies, Garlic plus optional Mushrooms
Fry in oil
1.2 kg of onions should become soft and begin to caramelise - Set aside when done.
Fry the chillies with the onions. 65 g medium hot or one super hot chili.
Fry the garlic with the onions, adding it when the onions are nearly done.
Use an entire bulb, around 10 cloves chopped, or elephant garlic if you can get it!
Add 200 g optional mushrooms quite late in the fry.
Divide the onion, chili, garlic and mushroom fry-up into two approximately equal parts. Set half aside for later.
Meat Sauce
Add the cooked mince back to half of the onion, chili and garlic.
Add 1600g (four tins) of premium chopped tomatoes - Cirio are good - own-brand are not.
Add one bottle of white wine or cider - Portuguese Vinho Verde is good or any medium not-too-sweet white wine.
Keep back one generous glass for the chef!
Add 100g dried sweetened cranberries - or fresh if it's Christmas.
Add 200g double concentrate tomato Puree.
In a huge tray bake dish, start assembling the mousagne.
Layer 1
1000g aubergines sliced to cover the base of the dish. (four small or three large) .
Cover the aubergine layer with 400ml coconut milk/cream.
Add a pasta layer ~ 250 g.
Cover with 480g baby spinach leaves.
Cover with the second lasagna sheet pasta layer - 260g.
Cover with the meat sauce before the sheets begin to curl up at the edges.
Cook in a low oven (gas mk 1, 100C, 212F) to allow the aubergine and spinach to reduce in volume - at lease one hour.
Cheesy Bacon Topping
Fry 500g chopped cooking bacon in 150g butter and a little water which should boil off allowing the bacon to start crisping.
The large amount of butter is needed for the "belch me" sauce.
Add 125g self raising flour and four teaspoons of English mustard powder. Coleman's is gluten free.
Stir like hell and start adding milk to make a wet "belch me" sauce with the surplus liquid needed for the pasta.
2 or perhaps 3 pints of milk might be needed!
Add the other half of the onion, chili, garlic and mushroom fry-up.
Add 500g thinly sliced mature cheddar and melt into the mix.
Bring to the boil then turn off the heat.
Layer 2
Cover the meat layer with more lasagna sheets - 250 g.
Pour a third of the cheesy bacon sauce over the pasta before the pasta sheets curl up at the edges.
Cover with the remaining 250 g or pasta and cover with the rest of the cheesy sauce.
Decorative Topmost Layer - Use your imagination
440g Ramiro Red Pepper Strips
200g tin olives stuffed with jalapeno, drained - flavour bombs
50g tin anchovies - flavour bombs
Regional and seasonal variations.
Use decorative haggis chunks for St Andrew's day - not gluten free.
Try black pudding chunks for a change - gluten free is available.
Substitute Chorizo for the bacon - authentic chorizo should be gluten free but please check.
Top with grated Parmesan for a zingier topping.
Top with melted mozzarella for a pizza tribute.
You could add ground cumin and/or ground coriander to the meat layer.
Substitute other dried or seasonal fruits for the cranberries.
And finally, don't be neurotic about ingredients and quantities. Take advantage of seasonal or on-offer ingredients.
There is no added salt or pepper in this recipe. The cheese and bacon are both salty.
Cook for three hours on a very low heat as above. Longer slower cooking is better at this stage allowing time for a pub visit.
Cook for a final 30 minutes at gas mk 4, 160C, 320F or until the topping is brown and bubbly.
The dish is huge and will stay hot for a long time.
The pasta will soften and improve if you let the dish rest for up to 30 minutes.
If the dish is too wet it's edible and tasty - you might need a spoon.
If it's too dry the pasta will be tough and unpleasant.
Scaled down quantities and shorter cooking times work OK.
This freezes well and cuts up neatly once cold.
