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Traditional Lasagne

Servings 6

Ingredients

For the ragu

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 500 g minced beef
  • 3 large carrots grated
  • 2 large onions chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic chopped
  • hand full fresh basil chopped
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • 150 ml beef stock
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 3 tbsp tomato puree
  • 2 400 g tins chopped tomatoes

For the white sauce

  • 50 g butter
  • 50 g plain flour
  • 750 ml hot milk
  • 2 tsp English mustard powder
  • 50 g Parmesan cheese grated
  • salt and pepper

For the lasagne

  • 10 lasagne sheets
  • 75 g cheddar cheese grated
  • 150 g drained weight mozzarella cheese, sliced

Instructions

  1. For the ragu heat a large frying pan till hot and then add the oil. Fry the minced beef until it's browned then transfer it to a plate (you might want to drain off any excess fat at this point). Put the pan back onto the heat and add the carrots, onion and garlic cooking until softened. Return the meat to the pan and add the flour, stir for a couple of minutes then add the stock,tomato puree, sugar and tinned tomatoes, bring to the boil. Stir in the basil then turn the heat down to low and leave to simmer for an hour or until the meat is tender.
  2. For the white sauce melt the butter in a pan then add the flour and cook whilst stirring for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the milk and keep whisking until it's thickened. Add the mustard powder to the sauce and then the Parmesan stirring it in well. Season to taste.
  3. For the lasagne spoon a third of the ragu into your oven proof dish followed by a third of the white sauce.Layer half your lasagne sheets on top of these. Follow this with another layer of ragu, white sauce and lasagne sheets. Then finish with one more layer of ragu and top with the last of the white sauce.
  4. Finally, sprinkle the top of your lasagne with the cheddar and then lay the slices of mozzarella on top. leave your lasagne to sit for at least 3 hours because you need the pasta to soften, but its better the longer you leave it. You could even leave it in the fridge overnight and bake the next day.
  5. To bake, pre-heat your oven to 200c/180c fan oven and cook in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling around the edges and the pasta is soft.