Italian Lasagne

📝 Ingredients

• 25 g butter
• 2 tbls olive oil
• 250 g bacon
• 2 onions about 270g
• 2 carrots 130g
• 2 celery stalks 100g
• 3 garlic cloves 15g
• 1.5 kg mince half beef half pork
• 150 ml dry white wine
• 3 tbls tomato paste
• 4 bay leaves
• 300 ml stock of choice (hot)
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 18 sheets lasagne
• grated parmesan or hard cheese to finish

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Add butter and olive oil to the pot add the bacon, onions, carrots, celery, and garlic and cook for 6 to 8 minutes
2. 2Add the mince 250 g at a time and brown evenly ensuring the juices have evaporated before you add the next batch of mince until all the mince is brown
3. 3Pour in the white wine and cook until almost evaporated
4. 4Add tomato paste and bay leaves and stir to coat the mince evenly
5. 5Cook until you start to hear a crackle on the bottom of the pot this means the mince is taking on a lovely flavour of the tomato paste and the beef and pork mince, caramelising in the process. This is where the flavour is amplified. Stir occasionally to ensure it doesn’t burn.
6. 6Pour in the hot stock of choice and cover and simmer gently for 45min
7. 7Check seasoning to ensure it’s not too salty add salt and pepper to your taste and the nutmeg
8. 8--- Assemble Lasagne ---
9. 9In a large oven proof dish (265 x 375 x 55mm or 4l capacity)Layer the tomato sauce on the base then add the lasagne sheets on top. Now spread meat ragù on top of that and add the béchamel sauce. Repeat this for 3 layers finishing off with the bèchamel sauce. Grate parmesan cheese over the bèchamel sauce and bake in pre heated oven at 180ºC for an hour.