12sheets of dried lasagnethe kind you don’t need to pre-cook
175g(1 3/4 cups) mixed grated cheeseI use a combination of regular cheddar, red cheddar and mozzarella
1tbspfinely chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
Ragu:
Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, until the onion softens.
1 tbsp olive oil, 1 onion
Add the garlic and cook for a further minute.
2 cloves garlic
Add the carrot and mushrooms and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
1 carrot, 3 chestnut (brown) mushrooms
Add the minced beef and cook for 5-6 minutes, until browned. Stir often, breaking up any large chunks of meat with a spatula.
500 g (1.1 lbs) minced beef (ground beef)
Add the tomato puree, oregano, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, beef stock cube, tinned tomatoes, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 15 -20 minutes until thickened.
3 tbsp tomato puree, 1 tsp dried oregano, ½ tsp dried thyme, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 beef stock cube, 2 x 400 g (2 14oz) tins chopped tomatoes, ½ tbsp light brown sugar, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper
Béchamel Sauce:
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 200C/400F (fan) and start on the Béchamel Sauce:
In a medium sized saucepan, add the butter and melt over a medium heat.
4 tbsp butter
Once melted and bubbling slightly, add in the flour and whisk it into the butter.
4 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
Keep gently whisking the roux over the heat for one or two minutes to cook the flour. Add in a good splash of milk, turn up the heat and stir with the whisk to incorporate.
720 ml (3 cups) full-fat milk
Keep adding in the milk a good splash at a time, and whisking until all the milk is used up (this normally takes me about 3 or 4 minutes and I add the milk in about 5 splashes). Don't worry if you get a few lumps, keep stirring with the whisk and they will disappear as the sauce thickens.
Keep stirring the sauce with the whisk over the heat until your sauce thickens. Once thickened, add in the salt, pepper, and cheddar. Stir together and then turn off the heat.
pinch salt and pepper, 100 g (1 packed cup) cheddar cheese
Now it's time to construct your lasagne (SEE NOTE 1):
Spoon a couple of tablespoons of the meat sauce into the lasagne dish and flatten it so it covers the base. You don't need much - this is just to ensure the lasagne sheets don't stick to the bottom of your dish. Then cover with 4 lasagne sheets. Try to ensure they don’t overlap. You may need to break up one of the sheets to cover the dish fully.
12 sheets of dried lasagne
Spoon on a third of the béchamel sauce and spread it around to cover the lasagne sheets,
Then cover with a third of the remaining meat sauce.
Place a layer of lasagne sheets on top. Followed by a layer of béchamel sauce and meat sauce. Repeat one more time, until all of the sauce and lasagne sheets are used.
Sprinkle the mixed cheese on top.
175 g (1 3/4 cups) mixed grated cheese
Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes until the cheese is golden and the lasagne is bubbling slightly at the edges.
Take out of the oven and leave to rest for 5 minutes before sprinkling with parsley and serving.
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
Video
Notes
NOTE 1:You’ll need a large, reasonably deep lasagne dish (mine is a rectangular enamel roaster, approx 31cmx25cm and 5cm deep. Here's the link enamel roaster (<--affiliate link)), but anything reasonably close to those measurements will be fine).Nutritional Information is per serving.