← Nouns Cooking · Italian

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 100 g Pancetta or guanciale, finely diced
• 1 Onion, finely diced
• 1 Carrot, finely diced
• 2 sticks Celery, finely diced
• 2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
• 500 g Minced beef
• 250 g Minced pork
• 175 ml dry red or white wine
• 2 tbsp Tomato purée (paste)
• 1 can tin of chopped tomatoes (400 g)
• 400 ml Passata
• 150 ml Milk
• 1 Bay leaves
• salt and black pepper
• 60 g Butter
• 60 g Plain (all-purpose) flour
• 800 ml whole milk, warmed
• ¼ tsp Nutmeg, freshly grated
• 300 g fresh lasagne sheets (or 250 g dried)
• 100 g Parmesan, finely grated
• 125 g Mozzarella, torn (optional)

Method

1. Warm the oil in a large heavy pan over medium heat and fry the pancetta for 3–4 min until its fat runs. Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic and cook gently for 10 min, stirring now and then, until soft and sweet but not browned.
2. Turn the heat up, add both minces and break them up with a wooden spoon. Fry for 8–10 min until all the liquid has gone and the meat starts to brown and catch.
3. Pour in the wine and let it bubble until almost gone. Stir in the tomato paste, tomatoes, passata, milk and bay leaf, season, then bring to a bare simmer. Cook with the lid half on for 1½ hours, stirring every so often and adding a splash of water if it gets too thick. It should end up rich and spoonable, not watery.
4. For the béchamel, melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the warm milk a little at a time, then simmer, still whisking, for 5 min until it coats the back of a spoon. Season with salt and the nutmeg.
5. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, 350°F). Spread a few spoonfuls of ragù over the base of a roughly 30 x 20 cm dish. Layer pasta, ragù, béchamel and a handful of parmesan, and repeat until you have 4 layers, finishing with béchamel, the last of the parmesan and the mozzarella if using.
6. Bake for 40–45 min, until deep golden on top and bubbling at the edges. If you use dried sheets, check the pasta is tender with the tip of a knife.
7. Let the lasagne rest for 15 min before cutting, so the layers hold together.

Tips

• The ragù is even better made a day ahead; chill it, then assemble and bake the next day.
• Leftover lasagne freezes well in portions for up to 3 months.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Great Italian Chefs RecipeTin Eats BBC Good Food