From Mrs Rachel Brady
This lasagne is one of the best ones I have ever made. The extra veggies add lots of flavour – and the pancetta gives smokiness. Also, the layering of the bechamel gives creaminess throughout. I added loads of Parmesan on top and it was so crispy and cheesy. The kids loved it. This will be your new go to lasagne recipe – I promise!
Serves: 4-6
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Ingredients:
For the ragu:
500g minced beef
500g passata
4 rashers (or similar amount of cubed) of pancetta (smoked streaky bacon is fine)
1 onion, diced
1 stick celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 courgette, diced
1 red pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons of sundried tomato paste (or tomato puree)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper
Pasta:
About 12 lasagne sheets (for 4 x layers)
For the bechamel:
500ml whole milk
50g butter
50g plain flour
1 teaspoon of mustard
50g cheddar, grated
100g mascarpone (Italian soft cream cheese) – optional
To top:
50g Parmesan, grated
Instructions:
- To make the ragu, add some diced pancetta to a tablespoon of oil in a heavy bottom pan and fry off for 5 minutes.
- Then simply tip in your diced vegetables and garlic in 1 more tablespoon of olive oil for about 20 minutes. A little colour is fine, as long as they are slowly caramelising!
- Add the meat and turn up the heat to brown. Add the tomato paste and dried oregano once brown. Pour in the passata and season with a little salt and pepper.
- Cook on low for 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, make the bechamel in the microwave. Simply put the flour, milk and butter into a microwaveable jug. Mix a little then set to high for 7 minutes. Each minute, whisk. First it will melt and then it will thicken. Once thick, keep cooking for a minute to cook out the flour. Once done, add the mascarpone, cheddar, mustard and salt and pepper.
- Preheat the oven to 180C. Using a large baking dish, layer 4 sheets of lasagne, breaking them to make a decent layer covering. Then use a 1/4 of the meat ragu, followed by a 1/4 of the cheese sauce (use a spoon to spread this out a bit). Do this again 3 times. You will just be able to squeeze in 4 layers. Finish with a heavy covering of grated parmesan, which will plug any gaps you have with the final layer of cheese sauce.
- Drizzle with extra virgin and bake for 35 – 40 minutes. Turn the heat down if it’s browning too fast.
- Eat with a simple salad and maybe some garlic bread.