Jan Braai's Pasta Potjie

Total Time: 1 Hour 30 minutes

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings: 2 - 4 People

Suitable For: Pasta with a difference

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The number 1 thing that always happens at any braai... LEFTOVERS! Don't get us wrong, nothing better than a cold lamb chop as a midnight snack, but what about making a full proper meal of your leftover meat? @janbraai suggests making a braai pasta potjie! Something you can even portion and freeze for later too.

Ingredients

12 lasagna sheets
Butter
For the Bolognese sauce:
500 g of finely chopped left over braaied meat (any mixture of steak, chops, pork, chicken, boerewors)
1 onion (finely chopped)
1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
1 cup mix of grated carrots and finely chopped celery
1 tot butter
½ cup dry red wine
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
1 tot of tomato paste
1 tot of oregano
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
For the béchamel (white) sauce:
3 tots of butter
3 tots of flour
2 cups stock (vegetable, beef, chicken, etc., whatever you have on hand)
Alternatively, 1 cup stock and 1 cup milk
½ cup cream
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon nutmeg
Salt and pepper

Instructions

Make the Bolognese sauce: In the pot that you will bake the lasagna in, mix the onion, garlic, carrot and celery and fry gently in the butter until soft. Some light flames should give you the correct heat. If it boils too rapidly, remove the pot from the flames and heat it with a few coals. Add the meat, wine, tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Stir very well then simmer for 10–15 minutes, stirring now and then. Keep the cooked sauce in another container until you need it for step 3.
Make the béchamel sauce: In a separate pot, melt the butter and use a wooden spoon to mix the four completely into the melted butter. Now add the stock bit by bit while you continuously stir the mixture. When all the stock has been added, let the sauce simmer for a few minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream, Parmesan and nutmeg. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Make the lasagna: Fill the cast-iron pot with layers of Bolognese sauce, pasta sheets and béchamel sauce. A flat-bottomed pot will result in a neater lasagna but any round-bottomed pot is also fine.
Put the lid on the pot and bake the lasagna for about 50 minutes by placing the pot on a stand over coals and also putting a few coals on the lid of the pot. When all the pasta sheets are completely soft, the lasagna is ready.