Kumara Lasagne

As requested by Gypsy in my comments, here is a staple recipe we rely on in the cooler months. Especially when I have a heap of kumara arrive in my weekly vege box.

The history of this recipe...you will note that it is absent of pasta so the title is deceiving! I made this recipe up when we needed to cook gluten free, but I really liked lasagne! I'm sure I could have bought GF lasagne sheets, but I really dislike buying specially GF items. This was also after having a recipe for Moussaka which used kumara along with the eggplant. This recipe has been modified over the years to include a few extra veges along the way.

We had guests for dinner the other night, so I decided to cook this one up, and to make the meal go further I made a loaf of Corn bread.

So, it really was a mixed ethnicity meal - Kiwi, Italian and Mexican lol.

Kumara Lasagne

500-600gm minced beef
2 T oil
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
1 carrot sliced
3-4 leaves of silverbeet including their stalks or other leafy greens chopped
2 x 400gm tinned tomatoes
4-5 medium kumara sliced and boiled till soft but not falling to bits
2 T of available fresh herbs (or a few tsps of dried) eg oregano, thyme, marjoram, basil
Salt and pepper to taste (or a teaspoon of powdered beef stock)

Heat oil and cook onion and garlic, add mince and brown well. Add tomatoes and other veges and cook till the liquid is reduced (add a little flour to thicken if it needs it). Add flavourings to taste.

Make cheese sauce (my recipe is a microwave one)
Melt, 3 T butter
Add, 3 T rice flour (or wheat flour)
Cook for about 20-30secs till the mixture bubbles
Add 1.5 cups of milk and microwave for 2mins, stir and cook for further minute or until thick.
Add 1/2 cup grated cheese.

I don't do multiple layers in this dish, but just put the mince mixture on the bottom of the dish, layer the kumara over the top and pour the cheese sauce over, add more grated cheese and bake for 20mins until heated through.

Corn Bread

I really wanted to find a recipe that was a "real" one without wheat flour in it and here it is.

1 cup cornmeal
1/2 t salt
2 t baking powder
2 eggs
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup sour cream (I have also used plain yoghurt successfully)
1 cup corn kernels
1/2 cup capsicum (optional)
2 cups cheese

Heat oven to 190 degrees. Add dry ingredients in bowl and make a well in the middle. In another bowl beat eggs, oil and sour cream until smooth. Pour into dry ingredients with corn, capsicum and cheese. Bake for 30mins.