Easy Lasagna

Heat 1tbsp of olive oil in a large saucepan, add the pork and beef mince with a little bit of salt and pepper and brown, once browned remove and set aside.

Now in the same pan add the remaining olive oil and brown off the lardons, once they have coloured add the carrot, onion and celery and gently sauté until soft.

Then add your garlic, dried herbs (oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme) and season again with a few cracks of salt and pepper. Cook for 5 mins, add a small splash of water if the pan dries out.

Once the garlic and herbs are cooked, re add your meat, and add the red wine, turn the heat up on the pan and allow the alcohol to burn off and the wine to reduce by 2 thirds, this should take just over 5 mins.

Once the wine has cooked off add the tinned tomatoes, and beef stock bring to the boil and then turn heat down and allow to simmer for as long as you can allow, topping with a little water each time it begins to get to dry.

While your ragu is cooking we can prepare the béchamel sauce. Pour the milk into a small saucepan and add the onion half, cloves and bay leaves, bring to a gently boil and then turn off the heat and leave for 15 mins, becareful when you are heating the milk that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan, you can give it a stir to avoid this.

After 15 mins strain the milk to get rid of the onion, cloves and bay leaves. In another sauce pan melt the butter, turn the heat down and then add the flour whisking continuously until its fully incorporated, cook off the flour gently while still stirring for about 5 mins.

Once the flour is cooked begin to add your milk, add about 100ml at a time stirring until it has mixed in fully, it will look very dry until the last 200ml or so and then you will begin to see a lovely silky white sauce, some people add parmesan at this stage but I leave it out, its up to you.

If your white sauce is a little thin then just cook very gently, keeping an eye on it at all times, or if its too thick just add a tbsp at a time of milk until you have your desired consistency, I find that it doesn't need altering but everyone is different. At this point add the ground nutmeg, some salt and pepper, taste and tweak the seasoning if need be. Allow to cool and then place some cling film over it to stop a skin from forming until you are ready to assemble the lasagna.

After a few hours of bubbling away your ragu should be ready, if you like a sloppy lasagna like my husband then allow the mixture to cool and use it as it is, but if you like a firmer lasagna then put then put the ragu through a strainer and allow any excess sauce to separate, you can keep this, reduce it slightly (be careful it will be powerful) so taste it first and then you can pour it on your lasagna once cooked. Don't worry the meat will still taste delicious as its been cooking for a long time and soaked up all the flavours.

I'm sure we all know how to assemble a lasagna but just incase, my method is.. meat, pasta, white sauce, meat, pasta, white sauce (some people will add cheese through out the layers but this recipe doesn't) and then on top I like to make my lasagna look extra special and bit posh, so I sprinkle the grated cheese, tear the mozzarella ball into chunks and put it on top and then the fresh basil leaves, give it an extra grind of pepper and into the oven at 175c for about 30-40mins

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Tip:

While your ragu is bubbling away top it up with about 100ml of water every time it starts to dry, the simmer again and repeat this for as long as your cooking it for, trust me it will be delicious, we want it to cook slowly with out drying out and this is the secret to a fantastic ragu

Always add salt and pepper to your taste, but trust me when I was cooking for Michelin star chefs and the other judges salt and pepper was key to keeping them happy. Just remember you can always add more but never take it away once its in, so add a little at a time and taste it each time you add it, this way you can adjust to your taste.

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