Lasagne

Is there anything better than hot, bubbling lasagne fresh out of the oven? I think not! So here is my foolproof, make it at least once-a-month, recipe that you'll be passing on to your own grandkids one day!

This is my Lasagne 2.0...

The first lasagne recipe I ever shared online used Dolmio white sauce (don't kill me)! But since you deserve the best, so this one has homemade béchamel sauce.

We have Jess of JustJessFood to thank for the encouragement in posting my first ever recipe - the original Lasagne - back in 2019(!!)

And that's where the story of sharing recipes online began, so this lasagne recipe holds a special place in my heart.

Lasagne is when my food recommendations page became a recipe page.

So thank you for being more interested in seeing what I was cooking and sharing on my stories than my grid-shared restaurant reviews. It was pivotal to being able to do what I do now.

Ingredients for Lasagne

Lasagne Ragu

• Meat: beef mince (ground beef) and smoked streaky bacon
• Vegetables: celery, carrot, onion
• Tomato: I love the Mutti brand - so I use their Tomato Puree, Pasta and Chopped Tomatoes (the texture of their chopped tomatoes is unrivalled)
• Stock: I use Borough Broth Co. Beef Bone Broth, but beef stock is fine
• Aromats: red wine stock pot (I love these as they are de-alcoholised so good if cooking for kids), but 250ml of red wine can be used instead

Béchamel Sauce and Other Ingredients

• Béchamel: salted butter, plain flour (all-purpose), whole milk
• Lasagne Assembly Items: fresh lasagne sheets, cheddar cheese, grated mozzarella, grated parmesan

How To Make Lasagne

Lasagne Ragu

Add carrots, onion and celery to a blender and blitz until you have small pieces. Cook the vegetables in olive oil with mixed herbs⁣⁣ until softened.

Once vegetables have softened, add beef mince⁣⁣ (seasoned with salt and pepper) with bacon (chopped) and cook until browned and cooked through.

Pour in red wine with tomato purée and simmer until liquid has reduced slightly (alternatively stir through the red wine stock pot as seen below).

Then add passata⁣⁣, chopped tomatoes and beef stock. Stir through and cook on low/medium heat for approx 90 - 120 minutes until flavour deepens, sauce thickens and consistency is ragu-like.

Note: the longer you cook the ragu, the better the flavour will be. I sometimes add a little extra water/stock or rinse out the tomato tins with water and cook the ragu for up to 2.5 hours. Game changer!

Béchamel Sauce (make this whilst ragu is cooking)

Melt salted butter and stir through add plain flour - cook for 2 minutes to cook off the taste of flour. Gradually add milk in increments, whilst stirring/whisking continuously, until sauce thickens.

Assembly

Mix together 100 g cheddar cheeseand 100 g mozzarella so you have a mixed cheese blend.

Layer up lasagne in order: meat, drizzle béchamel, 200 g fresh lasagne sheets.

And after the second meat layer, add half the cheese blend on top of the béchamel. Continue layers, until the top, where you add a thicker layer of béchamel on top of the last lasagne sheets before sprinkling the rest of the cheddar/mozzarella cheese blend on top and finished off with parmesan.

Bake in oven at 180C (fan) / 355F for 40 minutes - 20 minutes covered (with tinfoil or casserole lid), then 20 minutes uncovered.

This lasagne pairs perfectly with my homemade marinara sauce and extra cheese in individual portions if you want something saucy. So portion it up, and serve each person their own bubbling delight!

How To Serve Lasagne

Lasagne is great served with:

• salad
• garlic bread
• chips

If you're looking for picture-perfect lasagne that holds its shape, then there is a trick to it...

Next Day Lasagne. There's a reason the Italians literally call it that on menus.

It holds its shape better, and arguably tastes better next day. Like a curry. At a push, just let it cool for an hour or so to room temperature and re-heat what you need.

If you leave time for the lasagne to cool it will settle into its layers and make cutting it so much easier. Once portioned it up, you can freeze it for later, or add into individual oven proof dishes.

But if you can't wait like me, then you can scoop it out same night. Just be prepared for a saucy, tasty mess.