Serves 10
Directions
- 1Finely dice the carrots.
- 2Finely dice the celery.
- 3Finely dice the onion.
- 4Chop the garlic.
- 5Add extra virgin olive oil to a stockpot.
- 6Add the mince to the stockpot and let it sear off on a high heat until it develops a beautiful crust, then break it up.
- 7Add tomato paste to the mince.
- 8Add a bay leaf, salt, and garlic to the mince.
- 9Sear this off to cook out the tomato paste and allow the aroma from the garlic to infuse into the meat.
- 10Add the diced celery, onion, and carrots (sofrito) to the stockpot.
- 11Add dried Italian herbs and chili flakes to the mixture.
- 12Close the lid and let the veggies sweat down for about 15 minutes until they're soft and translucent.
- 13Add tinned plum tomatoes and tomato passata to the mixture.
- 14Close the lid and let the sauce simmer for at least an hour, stirring every 20 minutes.
- 15While the sauce is simmering, prepare the béchamel sauce by melting butter in a pan.
- 16Add plain flour to the melted butter to make a roux.
- 17Gradually add whole milk to the roux, whisking continuously to avoid lumps.
- 18Season the béchamel sauce with salt, pepper, and a tiny pinch of nutmeg.
- 19Add fresh parsley and coriander, and more dried Italian herbs and chili flakes to the meat sauce.
- 20Spread a little meat sauce on the bottom of a baking dish to prevent pasta sheets from sticking.
- 21Place a layer of fresh pasta sheets over the sauce.
- 22Add a layer of meat sauce over the pasta sheets.
- 23Add a layer of béchamel sauce over the meat sauce.
- 24Repeat the layers: pasta sheets, meat sauce, béchamel sauce.
- 25Top the lasagna with a generous layer of béchamel sauce and freshly shredded cheese, including a ball of fresh mozzarella.
- 26Prepare garlic bread by mixing crushed garlic, butter, parmesan cheese, and parsley.
- 27Cut a baguette and spread the garlic butter mixture into the cuts.
- 28Bake the lasagna and garlic bread.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 kg beef or lamb mince
- 2 large onions
- 3 medium onions
- 2 medium carrots
- 2 celery sticks
- 15 garlic cloves
- 20 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 2 tins plum tomatoes
- 500 g passata
- 1 large bay leaves
- 2 small bay leaves
- 1 tbsp dried Italian herbs
- 1.5 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 1.5 tsp chilli flakes
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1.5 tsp cumin powder
- 0.5 tsp chilli powder
- 200 g freshly shredded cheese
- 1 ball fresh mozzarella
- 1 large handful Fresh parsley and coriander
- 100 g butter
- 4 tbsp plain flour
- 4 cups whole milk
- 5 cups whole milk
- 1 to taste Salt & pepper
- 1 tiny pinch nutmeg
Equipment
knifecutting boardstockpotwooden spoonlidpanwhiskbaking dishmortar and pestlefork
Tips
- For the sofrito, finely dice or brunoise carrots, onion, and celery.
- Do not skimp on garlic.
- When searing the mince, let it sear off on a high heat until it develops a beautiful crust before breaking it up.
- Cook out the tomato paste to remove the raw tomato flavor.
- Let the sauce come together for at least an hour, or two if you really want to earn my respect, stirring every 20 minutes.
- Fresh herbs make everything better, so don't skimp on them.
- To prevent sheets from sticking, use a little sauce on the bottom of the baking dish.
- If using dry pasta sheets and not pre-boiling, make sure to foil the lasagna before baking to ensure they cook nicely.
- For an ooey gooey cheesy top, leave a large amount of béchamel for the end and top with freshly shredded cheese (not pre-shredded).
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