Lasagna

• servings: 10 servings
• active time: 20 minutes
• total time: 4 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

Ragu Bolognese

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion (, finely chopped (white, yellow or brown)

1 medium carrot (, peeled and very finely diced)

1 celery stick (, very finely diced). Substitute 100g mushroom

2 garlic cloves (, minced)

1 kg / 2 lb beef mince (ground beef) (Note 1)

800g / 28 oz canned crushed tomato

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 cup pinot noir red wine (, or other dry red wine (Note 2)

3 beef bouillon cubes (, crumbled)

2 bay leaves (, dried or fresh)

1/2 tsp EACH dried thyme and oregano

2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

1 - 2 tsp sugar (if needed - Note 3)

1/2 tsp salt and black pepper

Cheese Sauce (Besciamella):

60g / 4 tbsp butter

1/2 cup flour

4 cups milk (, preferably full fat but low fat ok)

2 cups gruyere or Colby cheese (, shred yourself (or cheddar, Monterey Jack, OR 1 cup / 100g shredded parmesan) (Note 4)

Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

Salt and pepper

Lasagna:

350g/ 12 oz fresh lasagna sheets (or 250g/8oz dried) (Note 5)

1 1/2 cups (tightly packed) mozzarella cheese (, shred yourself (Note 4)

Finely chopped basil or parsley (, for garnish (optional)

Directions

Ragu:

Heat oil in a large heavy based pot over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, celery and carrots. Cook for 10 minutes until softened and sweet - they should not brown (if they do, turn heat down).

Add beef, turn heat up and cook the beef, breaking it up as you go.

Once the beef has all turned brown, add the remaining Ragu ingredients EXCEPT the sugar.

Stir then adjust the heat so it is bubbling very gently. Place the lid on and cook for 1.5 - 2 hours, stirring every now and then, then remove the lid and simmer for 30 minutes.

The ragu is ready when the meat is really tender and the sauce has thickened and is rich - see video for consistency (Note 6). Adjust salt and pepper to taste, and add sugar if required (Note 3)

Cheese Sauce:

Warm milk up in a saucepan (optional - just makes sauce thicken faster).

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium low heat. Add flour and mix constantly for 1 minute.

Pour about 1 cup of the milk in, mixing as you go to incorporate into the flour mixture. Once mostly lump free, add remaining milk. Use a whisk if needed to make it lump free.

Turn heat up to medium high. Stir occasionally at first then regularly after a few minutes until sauce thickens - about 5 - 8 minutes. It should coat the back of the wooden spoon.

Remove from heat, add cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Mix until the cheese is melted. The Sauce should be thick but still easily pourable - the consistency of heavy cream (you need to be able to drizzle it over the Ragu when layering - see video). If it's too thick, add a splash of water or milk.

Assemble:

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F.

Use a 33 x 22 x 7 cm / 13 x 9 x 2.5" baking dish.

Smear a bit of Ragu on the base, then cover with lasagna sheets. Tear sheets to fit.

Spread over 2 1/2 cups of Ragu (enough to cover sheets), then drizzle over 1 cup of Cheese Sauce.

Top with lasagna sheets (Note 7). Spread with another 2 1/2 cups of Ragu, then 1 cup of Cheese Sauce. Top with lasagna sheets then repeat 1 more time.

Top with a 4th layer of lasagna sheets, then pour over the remaining Cheese Sauce.

Sprinkle with Mozzarella, then bake for 25 minutes or until golden and bubbling.

Stand for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting and serving, garnished with basil or parsley if desired.

Notes

Pork addition – Some traditional versions use a combination of pork and beef because pork is a more tender meat while beef provides the beefy flavour. To do this, use 250g/8oz pork and 750g/1.5lb beef. I do not (usually) do this simply because I feel like the sauce is so beautifully rich anyway (especially with the cheese sauce).

2. For non alcoholic, use a no alcohol red wine or more beef broth/stock.

3. Sugar – add this only if you think your sauce has a tinge of sour which can happen because not all canned tomatoes are created equal (economical tend to be more sour).

4. Cheese for sauce: Use any eating cheese that melts like cheddar, colby, Monterey jack, gruyere. SHRED YOUR OWN for silky smooth sauce, packet shredded contains anti-caking agents which can make your sauce grainy. Australia: I steer clear of tasty cheese because some brands don’t melt nicely into cheese sauce, some are oily and some go a big grainy.

Mozzarella is recommended for the topping for its melting qualities, and doesn’t go greasy. Again, shred your own! It melts better – spreads better (often store bought shreds are too chunky so you don’t get good coverage).

5. Fresh vs dried lasagna sheets: I like using fresh because I feel that it “melds” better with the filling and doesn’t buckle (ie go wavy), sold in the fridge section of grocery stores.

DRIED Lasagna sheets, check the packet to see if it needs to be cooked before using. If it’s labelled “Instant” or “No Cook”, then you can use it without pre-cooking. If it needs to be cooked in boiling water (like pasta), follow the packet directions but regardless of what the packet says, I would recommend adding a good glug of olive oil in the water before adding the lasagna sheets (extra assurance they won’t stick together).

If you use instant dried lasagna sheets, the surface probably won’t stay nice and flat, like you see in the photos, as it tends to get “waves” on the surface once cooked. No effect on flavour, it’s just visual. ⚠️ IMPORTANT If using instant dried sheets, must ensure the ragu has enough liquid to hydrate the sheets in the oven, see note 6.

6. Ragu Consistency & Making ahead: The Ragu shouldn’t be watery and there shouldn’t be an excessive amount of sauce. However, if you are using instant dried lasagna sheets (ie layer dried), you must make sure there is enough liquid to rehydrate the sheets in the oven. See video to see how saucy my ragu is – this is saucy enough for dried lasagna sheets.

If you aren’t using a heavy based pot, you may find you need to add a splash of water during the cook time (heavy pot = heavy lid = clamps down better = less water evaporation).

Making ahead: If you make the sauce ahead (I often do), reheat the ragu gently and you will need about 1/4 -cup water (60 ml) to loosen the sauce a touch. Add a little more if using instant dried sheets (see note 5).

7. SHEET PLACEMENT: If you watch the video, you will see I place the sheets in one direction for one layer, then the next time I place them 90 degrees the other way. This just helps the sheets stay in place a bit better when cutting – but it’s not a big deal!

8. Authenticity note: There is no single version of Lasagna in Italy though one might consider very traditional ones to be made with pancetta and milk and with no tomato paste, bouillon cubes or Worcestershire sauce and often made with white rather than red wine. Quite different to mine!

The main reason is because (speaking very frankly) mine is a version that I make using produce I get from everyday grocery stores, not using the quality of produce you can get from weekend markets in the cobblestone streets of little Tucson villages! Even the quality of canned tomatoes makes such a difference on the end product.

Make my lasagna with grocery store ingredients, and everybody is going to swoon and fall in love with it – and that was my baseline. Make this using Italian grown San Marzano tomatoes DOP or DPO (authenticity mark), high quality beef from your local butcher, organic vegetables, homemade beef stock and handmade fresh lasagne sheets – it’s going to blow your mind.

9. MAKE AHEAD: Lasagna is brilliant for making and and freezing. Cover with foil and reheat in the oven at 180C or microwave it (this is my preferred because I feel like it keeps it more moist). If frozen, defrost before heating. Keeps for 3 days in the fridge.

Alternatively, assemble then bake later. Just let the sauce cool a bit then assemble the lasagne and bake later – up to about 24 hours is fine.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 398 g
• Calories: 594 kcal
• Total Fat: 29 g
• Saturated Fat: 15 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 12 g
• Trans Fat: 1 g
• Cholesterol: 146 mg
• Sodium: 979 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 40 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2 g
• Total Sugars: 11 g
• Protein: 39 g