Lasagne Recipe

This is a great lasagne recipe for the Italian classic, with home made bechamel sauce. It might take longer than some recipes, but it’s worth the wait!

Step 1

1. Infuse the milk to make the béchamel sauce.
2. Combine the 1 ½ litres milk, 1 thickly sliced onion, 3 bay leaves and 3 cloves into a large saucepan and bring very gently just up to the boil.
3. Turn off the heat and set aside for 1 hr to infuse.
4. For the meat sauce, combine the 3 tbsp oil, 2 finely chopped celery sticks, 1 finely chopped onion, 1 finely chopped carrot, 3 crushed garlic cloves and 140g cubed pancetta in
   another large saucepan
5. Gently cook together until all the vegetables are soft but not coloured.
6. Tip in 500g pork mince and 500g beef mince, 200ml milk and 2 cans of chopped tomatoes.
7. Using a wooden spoon, stir together and break up and mash the lumps of mince against the sides of the pan.
8. When the mince is mostly broken down, stir in 2 bay leaves, 1 rosemary sprig, 2 thyme sprigs, 2 tsp dried oregano, 2 beef stock cubes and 500ml red wine, bring to a simmer.
9. Cover and cook for 1 hr, stirring occasionally to stop the bottom from burning.

Step 2

1. Uncover and gently simmer for another 30 mins-1 hr until the meat is tender and sauce, taste and season.
2. To finish the béchamel sauce, strain the milk through a fine sieve into one or two jugs.
3. Melt 100g butter in the same pan then, using a wooden spoon, mix in 100g plain flour and cook for 2 mins.
4. Stir in the strained milk, a little at a time – the mix will thicken at first to a doughy paste, but keep going, adding milk gradually to avoid lumps.
5. When all the milk is in, bring to a gentle simmer, stirring constantly (if you have lumps, give it a quick whisk). Gently bubble for a few mins until thickened.
6. Season with salt, pepper and a good grating of nutmeg.
7. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
8. Spread a spoonful of the meat sauce over the base of a roughly 3.5 litre baking dish.
9. Cover with a single layer of dried pasta sheets, snapping them to fit if needed, then top with a quarter of the béchamel
10. Spoon over a third of the meat sauce and scatter over a little of the finely grated parmesan.
11. Repeat the layers – pasta, béchamel, meat and parmesan – two more times to use all the meat sauce
12. Add a final layer of pasta, the last of the béchamel and remaining parmesan.
13. Sit the dish on a baking tray to catch spills and bake for 1 hr until bubbling, browned and crisp on top.

Ingredients for lasagne Recipe

For the meat Sauce

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot,(about 100g/4oz) finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 140g pack cubetti di pancetta
• 500g pack beef,mince (we used 10% fat)
• 500g pack pork mince
• 200ml milk
• 400g cans chopped tomatoes x 2
• Bay leaves x 2
• Thyme & 2 rosemary sprigs x 2
• 2 beef stock cubes
• 500ml red wine

For the lasagne

• 400g dried pasta sheets
• 50g parmesan, finely grated

For the white sauce (béchamel)

• 3 bay leaves
• 3 cloves
• 100g butter
• 100g plain flour
• good grating of nutmeg

Check out our list of 21 day matured beef we have available.