Meatball Lasagna Recipe: Get ready for the Jodi Lee Trek

We’re not done with the mouth-watering recipes. This time, Geoff has pulled together something special, perfect for a family gathering or a trekking team to carb load before an 80km walk. For those who are about to embark on the Jodi Lee Foundation Adelaide trek, this is a great meal to get you energised and ready to take on the challenge. Geoff’s meatball lasagna recipe is perfect for a halfway point meal, or even just a family dinner to celebrate your accomplishment (with leftovers for lunch). Read on to learn how to make it!

Overview:

• Meatball lasagna recipe ingredients
  • Meatball ingredients
  • Sauce ingredients
  • Assembly ingredients
• Method
  • Making the meatballs & sauce 
  • Assembling the meatball lasagna
• Meatball lasagna recipe: tips and tricks
• Fuel yourself for the Jodi Lee Foundation trek

Meatball lasagna recipe ingredients:

Meatball ingredients

• 2 tbsps fennel seeds (toasted and crushed)
• 1 kg pork mince
• 1 kg beef mince
• 3 tbsps parsley (chopped)
• 2 eggs
• ⅓  cup breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp minced garlic (or 1 large clove)
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• Drizzle of olive oil
• ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese 
• 1 pureed white onion 
• Large pinch of salt
• ½ tsp of cracked black pepper

Sauce ingredients

• 2 jars of Passata  (600g)
• 1 jar of your favourite pasta sauce (500g)
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• ½ tsp chilli flakes (adjust to taste if you prefer more spice)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Assembly ingredients

• 400g packet of lasagne sheets 
• Pinch of chilli flakes
• ½ cup of fresh ripped basil leaves
• ¼ cup of fresh oregano
• 250g shaved parmesan
• 400g fresh mozzarella balls or bocconcini balls
• 250g shredded mozzarella
• 750g ricotta
• Meatballs (that you have made)
• Sauce (that you have made)

Prep time	40 mins
Cooking time	40 mins
Serves	10 to 12

Method

Making the meatballs & sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
2. Add the meatball ingredients to a large bowl and gently mix together with your hands, making sure not to over-mix. 
3. Form large meatballs (approximately twice the size of a golf ball) and place in rows on a baking pan greased with olive oil.
4. After the entire mixture has been formed into balls, drizzle olive oil over the top of each meatball and then place in the pre-heated oven for approximately 35 to 40 minutes.
5. While the meatballs are in the oven, start on the sauce. Add all of the ingredients for the sauce into a saucepan and simmer on low for 25 mins, around the time it takes for the meatballs to cook. 
6. Remove the meatballs from the oven once nearly cooked through, and let rest in the pan until cool enough to handle. Cut the meatballs into bite sized wedges (4-6 pieces per meatball).
7. While the sauce and meatballs are cooling, cook the lasagne sheets until they are pliable (best to cook only 2 or 3 at a time so they don’t stick together). No need to fully cook the lasagne sheets, they will finish cooking in the oven.
8. Once the sauce has cooled a little, add 300g of ricotta to the sauce and mix through.

Assembling the meatball lasagna

1. Lay out all assembly ingredients in separate bowls on the bench.
2. In a large, deep casserole dish, add a thin layer of tomato and ricotta sauce then a layer of lasagne sheets (overlapping the edges) to the bottom of the dish.
3. Place a third of the herbs and meatballs and the fresh mozzarella pieces, followed by a thin layer of shredded mozzarella and parmesan. 
4. Cover this first layer with a thin layer of sauce and then repeat until you are at the top of your casserole dish and have a layer of lasagne sheets on top.
5. On top of the last layer of lasagne sheets, spread the remaining ricotta, shredded mozzarella and parmesan. 
6. Place the casserole dish on an oven tray to catch any boiled over sauce.
7. Bake in the oven for approximately 30-40 minutes.

Meatball lasagna recipe: tips and tricks

• When the cheese on top of the lasagna is golden brown and the edges are a little crunchy (best bits), remove from the oven.
• Let the lasagna rest for at least 20 minutes on top of the stove. If you don’t let it rest it will be very hard to serve and will become very messy. It’s difficult to wait, but definitely worth your time.
• Serve with a fresh garden salad and garlic bread – a satisfying combination of all the food groups and a little bit of comfort food.

Meatball lasagna recipe FAQ

Is it better to bake or fry meatballs?

Either method can bring you a delicious result, but baking your meatballs has a few added benefits. 

1. You can reduce the fat by minimsing the amount of oil used to cook.
2. You can set and forget with baking, no standing over the stove top making sure your meatballs aren’t burning. 

Do you put sauce on the bottom of lasagna?

Yes! To create the perfect lasagne, you’ll need to put a layer of sauce down first (we used tomato and ricotta sauce in our meatball lasagne recipe).

Does a lasagna have 2 or 3 layers?

Your lasagna requires 2 layers at the absolute minimum, but 3 or more will give you that decadent layered meal that we’ve all come to love.

And there you have it! A simple recipe for a hearty, delicious lasagna that is perfect for fuel, or a warm family dinner. At FPE, we aren’t just food processing equipment specialists, we care about all aspects of food creation (like food inspection and industrial cleaning equipment), and with our friendly customer support team, you are always supported when you work with FPE.

Fuel yourself for the Jodi Lee Foundation trek

Geoff’s meatball lasagna recipe is the perfect fuel to undertake the Jodi Lee Foundation trek – a challenging hike that’s raising awareness for bowel cancer, a matter close to the heart for the FPE team. The Jodi Lee Foundation is the leading voice for bowel cancer prevention, providing support and information to millions of Australians each year. If you’d like to donate, head to the Jodi Lee Foundation donation page.

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