BEEF LASAGNE RECIPE RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
  2. Peel and finely chop the onion, garlic and carrot, then finely slice the pancetta or bacon. Pick the herbs.
  3. Slowly fry the pancetta or bacon and cinnamon in a large casserole pan over a medium heat until golden, then add the onion, carrot, garlic and herbs and 4 tablespoons of oil.
  4. Mix together, add the beef and pork, cook for 5 minutes, then add the tomatoes and wine (or you can use water, if you prefer). Add the bay and bring to the boil.
  5. Scrunch up a wet sheet of greaseproof paper, then and place it on top of the pan and cover with a lid. Place in the oven for 2 hours or simmer on the hob over a gentle heat for around 1½ hours, or until thickened and reduced.
  6. Halve, deseed and roughly chop the butternut squash, then drizzle with oil. Bash the coriander seeds and dried chilli then sprinkle over, with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
  7. Place on a baking tray and roast in the oven for the last 45 minutes of cooking the sauce. When the sauce is done, season to taste and put to one side.
  8. For the white sauce, finely chop the anchovies, then mix with the crème fraîche and a handful of Parmesan, then season with salt and pepper – you may need to loosen the mixture with a little milk.
  9. Turn the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6.
  10. To assemble the lasagne, rub a lasagne dish with oil, lay some sheets of lasagne over the bottom and drape them over the sides. Add a layer of meat, a little white sauce and a sprinkling of Parmesan.
  11. Break the butternut squash into pieces and use this as one layer, then repeat the layers, finishing with a layer of pasta covered in white sauce.
  12. Tear over the mozzarella and sprinkle with some extra Parmesan, then bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden. Serve with a seasonal salad.

Steps:

• Trim the leeks until they are about the same width as your lasagne dish. Cut the leeks lengthways through to the middle but no further.
• Open out the leeks and remove five or six of the narrow leaves from the centre of each leek. Thinly slice these inner leaves. Separate the larger leaves – these will become your ‘lasagne’.
• Finely chop half the onion and cut the other half into wedges. Thinly slice the celery and dice the carrots.
• Put the minced beef in a large non-stick frying pan with the sliced leeks, chopped onion, celery, carrots and garlic.
• Place the pan over a medium-high heat and fry without added fat for about 10 minutes until lightly coloured. You’ll need to break up the mince with a couple of wooden spatulas or spoons as it cooks.
• Stir in the chopped mushrooms and cook for 2–3 minutes more. The pan should look fairly dry at this point.
• Sprinkle over the plain flour and stir it thoroughly into the mince and vegetables. Slowly stir in the red wine and beef stock. Add the canned tomatoes, tomato purée and dried oregano, then drop a bay leaf into the pan and bring it to a simmer. Season with lots of freshly ground black pepper.
• Turn down the heat slightly and leave the mince to simmer for 20–30 minutes until rich and thick, stirring occasionally.
• While the mince is cooking, put the onion wedges in a saucepan with the remaining bay leaf. In a small bowl mix three tablespoons of the milk with the cornflour.
• Pour the rest of the milk into the pan with the onion wedges and set it over a low heat. Bring to a very gentle simmer and cook for 2–3 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave the milk to infuse for 10 minutes.
• Half fill a large saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Add the leek ‘lasagne’ and bring the water back to the boil.
• Cook the leeks for five minutes or until very tender. It is important that the leeks are tender or the lasagne will be tricky to cut later.
• Drain in a colander under running water until cold. Drain on kitchen paper or a clean tea towel.
• Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
• Remove the onion wedges and bay leaf from the infused milk with a slotted spoon, then return the pan to the heat. Give the cornflour and milk mixture a good stir until it is smooth once more and pour it into the pan with the infused milk.
• Bring to a simmer and cook for five minutes, stirring regularly until the sauce is smooth and thick.
• Season the sauce with a good grating of nutmeg to taste and plenty of ground black pepper.
• If the sauce is a little too thick to pour easily, whisk in a couple more tablespoons of milk.
• Spoon a third of the mince mixture into a 2.5 litre lasagne dish. Top with a layer of blanched leeks. Repeat the layers twice more, finishing with leeks. Pour the white sauce over the leeks and top with the sliced tomatoes. Mix the cheddar and parmesan cheese and sprinkle all over the top. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden-brown and bubbling.
• Divide into portions with your sharpest knife. Serve with a freshly dressed green salad.