CLASSIC LASAGNE RECIPES

Steps:

• For the ragù sauce, in a large pan, heat the olive oil, add the mince and brown well. Add the red wine to deglaze the pan and cook until it has almost evaporated.
• Tip in the onion, carrots and celery and fry for a couple of minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then add the chopped tomatoes and rinse the tin out with water and add the water from the tin to the pan. Lower the heat, cover with a lid and gently simmer for two hours, stirring from time to time.
• Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
• For the white sauce, melt the butter in a small pan on a medium heat, stir in the flour with either a wooden spoon or small hand whisk (this will avoid lumps from forming) to form a paste and stir in a little of the milk.
• Add the remaining milk, stirring all the time until it begins to thicken to a creamy consistency. Remove from the heat, add salt and pepper and stir in 20g/¾oz of the grated parmesan cheese.
• Line an ovenproof rectangular dish of about 22 x 26cm/8½ x 10½in with a little of the ragù sauce, arrange sheets of lasagne over followed by ragù sauce, dots of mozzarella and white sauce and a sprinkling of grated parmesan. Continue to make layers like this until you have finished all the ingredients, ending with a topping of white sauce. Hold back some of the ragù to dot over the top and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
• Cover with foil and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden-brown. Remove the foil for the last five minutes of cooking. Allow to rest for a couple of minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and fry the onion, carrots, celery and one of the bay leaves for 8-10 mins until the veg softens and is starting to turn golden. Add the mince and garlic, and stir-fry until the beef browns, about 5 mins. Tip in the tomatoes and a canful of water, the tomato purée and bouillon, bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 20 mins, removing the lid after 10 mins to reduce the mixture slightly.
• Meanwhile, pour the milk into a medium pan with the flour and whisk over a low heat until the mixture is lump-free. Add the second bay leaf and a good pinch of nutmeg, and continue to cook, whisking, for 8-10 mins until thick.
• Remove the bay from the mince and white sauce, and discard. Spoon a third of the mince into the base of a 19 x 24cm baking dish and top with two lasagne sheets. Spoon over half of the remaining mince, then top with two more lasagne sheets, the rest of the mince and the remaining lasagne sheets. Spoon over the white sauce and sprinkle with the cheese. Bake for 40 mins until bubbling and golden.