Bacon Connoisseurs Week - No Bake Bacon Lasagne

Don't you just love random "weeks"?  You know the sort of thing, Take your goldfish to work week, Pyjamas In The Supermarket week, stuff like that.  Well this is Bacon Connoisseurs Week!  That's right, the 18th to 24th of March is Bacon Connoisseurs Week.

Bacon Connoisseurs week encourages us, the bacon eaters, to buy good quality bacon, such as Red Tractor assured, where the welfare of the animals is ensured, and the quality of the bacon is so much better.  That's a week I can really get behind.  I love my bacon, whether it's in a simple sandwich, or something a bit more involved.  Bacon is the food I would choose for my Desert Island, I never get bored of it.

So, in celebration of Bacon Connoisseurs Week, here's a little recipe, from Fay Ripley, the week's ambassador, to get your tastebuds tingling.

No Bake Bacon Lasagne

Serves: 3-4

Cooking time: approximately 35 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

240g dry cured oak smoked bacon rashers

15mlsp (1tbsp) olive oil

2 large mushrooms, sliced

1 clove of garlic, crushed

400g (approx) can chopped tomatoes

15mlsp (1tbsp) tomato ketchup

15mlsp (1tbsp) fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped

8 fresh lasagne sheets, cut in half–or if dried lightly soaked in boiling water

Grated parmesan cheese

Fresh Basil leaves

Black pepper to season

METHOD:

In a large non-stick saucepan heat the oil and fry the bacon, mushrooms and garlic for about 4 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and tomato ketchup / sauce and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Plunge lasagne sheets into boiling water for about 2-3 minutes (Follow pack instructions). Remove from water, rinse well and allow to drain.

Assemble & Serve:

Cut each lasagne sheet in half. Onto each plate start with a square of lasagne, top with a spoonful of sauce and repeat making up to 3-4 layers of lasagne.

Finish with the top being with a piece of lasagne, sprinkle generously with grated parmesan and scatter with fresh basil leaves.

As the observant may notice, I didn't have the fresh basil leaves to hand, but even so, it's really tasty.  The bacon & mushroom give the lasagne a really rich flavour, and it comes out looking and tasting like a rustic (read expensive) restaurant dish.  Give it a try for yourself!