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Lasagne

Recipe based on https://www.insidetherustickitchen.com/classic-beef-lasagne-spinach-pasta/

• Cooking time: almost all day
• Serves: about 8!

Ingredients

Mince

• a couple of carrots
• 1 stalk of celery
• 1 red onion
• 400g minced beef
• 400g minced pork
• ~400g passata
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• red wine
• 1 litre beef stock
• 2 bay leaves

White sauce

• 75g butter
• 75g plain flour
• 1 litre full fat milk
• 75g grated parmesan

Pasta

(based on ./Linguine.md)

Make two batches of this:

• 50g 00 flour
• 90g plain flour
• 3 eggs (1 whole egg, and 2 more egg yolks)
• 1/2 tsp salt

Lasagne

• Approx 400g cheese, grated. I’ve used a mix of mild cheddar and Applewood.

Directions

Mince

1. Roughly chop the carrot, celery and onion, then pluse in a blender until they’re finely chopped
2. Fry the mix gently with some olive oil for a few minutes
3. Add the minces and brown
4. Add some red wine (not too much as this can overpower the flavour if you use too much or a strong flavour) and allow to boil down by about a half
5. Add the passata, chopped tomatoes, bay leaves, beef stock and salt & pepper
6. Simmer on low to reduce for about 3 hours, checking it doesn’t dry out completely (add more water if needed). The longer it cooks, the richer the flavour

White saucer

1. Melt the butter in a pan until bubbling. Use a bigger pan than you think as you’ll need space for the milk!
2. Add the flour and stir to form a paste, then let cook for 1 minute while stirring
3. Slowly add parts of the milk and whisk in; whisk constantly to keep the mix smooth. Once you’ve added half the milk then mix until it starts to thicken
4. Add the rest of the milk and the parmesan
5. Continue to stir and mix until it starts to thicken, enough to cover the spoon. This should happen at about 80C Stop and remove from the heat

Pasta sheets

Preparing the dough:

1. Make a pile of the flour with a well in the middle.
2. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt.
3. Break 1 whole egg, and 2 more egg yolks in to the well.
4. Whisk the eggs, and gradually add flour to the mix until you have a wet sticky ball.
5. Fold the dough, folding in the flour, and turning 45 degrees each press. Continue until the dough is firm and dry
6. Knead for about 7 minutes. If it still feels tacky, add flour as you go
7. Wrap in plastic to keep moist. Rest for at least 15 minutes. Ideally rest for an hour+ for a smooth texture.

Rolling the sheets

1. Cut the dough ball in half, then leave half in the plastic wrap.
2. Roll until the dough is about 10mm thick.
3. Send through the flat rollers on the widest setting three times.
4. Step down one setting and send through 3 times. Repeat until you get to about setting 6.
5. Fold the ends of the sheet in, then fold in half.
6. Set the rollers to maximum again, and send through 3 times.
7. Work down to about setting 5.
8. Cut into sheets so each “length” matches the width of the baking dish
9. Hang on the drier

Lasagne

1. Add a thin layer of the mince to the bottom of the pan to start
2. Add a layer of pasta sheets, then white sauce, then mince
3. Repeat for about 5 layers, finishing with a pasta sheet top
4. Top with a covering of grated cheese

Cook for about 30 minutes at 180C or until the cheese looks fully melted and bubbling. Serve with garlic bread.