Lasagne
Great version of a classic recipe … takes a while to make!
Ingredients
Infused Milk
- 900 ml Milk Use whole milk
- 1 Onion sliced
- 1 Carrot sliced
- 1 stalk Celery
- 6 Black Peppercorns
Meat Sauce
- 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 1 Onion finely chopped
- 1 Carrot finely chopped
- 2 cloves Garlic crushed
- 50 g Streaky Bacon
- 2 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 125 g Mushrooms chopped
- 450 g Minced Beef
- 350 g Tomato skinned and chopped
- 3 tbsp Tomato Puree
- 150 ml White Wine
- 150 ml Beef Stock
- 2 Bay leaves
- 225 g Lasagna Sheets
Bechamel Sauce
- 125 g Butter
- 75 g Plain Flour
- 75 g Parmigiano Reggiano
- Nutmeg
Instructions
Preparing the milk
- Put the milk into a pan and add one sliced onion, one sliced carrot, the celery stalk chopped and the peppercorns.
- Bring slowly to the boil, and then remove from the heat and allow to infuse for 30 mins.
Making the meat sauce :
- Heat 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil in a large heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, garlic and bacon. Turn down the heat and sweat this for 10 mins.
- Turn up the heat and add the smoked paprika and the minced beef, cook for 5 mins and then add the mushrooms and cook for a further 2 minutes.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, wine, stock and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 35 mins.
Cook the lasagne
- Cook the lasagne, several at a time, in a large pan of fast-boiling salted water, for about 12 mins for dried pasta or 3 mins for fresh.
- Drain and rinse in cold water. Lay out on a clean cloth.
Making the Bechamel Sauce
- Strain the milk. Melt the butter in a pan, stir in the flour, add some grated nutmeg and cook gently for one minute.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the milk. Gently bring to the boil and cook until it thickens. Season to taste.
Putting it together
- Grease a large 2-3 litre ovenproof dish. Spoon in half the meat sauce. Cover with half the lasagna and then half the sauce. Repeat that and then sprinkle with the cheese.
- Cook in an oven at 180 C for 45 minutes.
Notes
You can make this recipe truly amazing if you replace the mince with leftover smoked brisket