Lasagne is the ultimate comfort dish - a beautifully layered masterpiece of silky pasta, slow-simmered ragù, velvety béchamel, and bubbling cheese. But what truly sets an exceptional lasagne apart is the depth of flavour in the sauce. Our rich, all-natural beef stock, made with locally sourced ingredients, enhances the ragù with a deep, savoury richness, bringing out the essence of traditional Italian cooking.
Ingredients
For the ragu
1kg beef mince (or 50/50 beef & pork mince)
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 carrots, finely diced
2 sticks celery, finely diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp tomato purée
2x (400g) tins peeled plum tomatoes
500ml Carol’s Stock Market beef stock
2 bay leaves
Salt & pepper
For the béchamel sauce
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp plain flour
1 litre milk
100g gruyere cheese, grated (or 50/50 gruyere & parmesan)
1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
Salt
To assemble
350g dried lasagne pasta sheets
200g grated mozzarella
Serves
8-10
Method
For the ragu, heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Once hot, add a drizzle of light olive oil then add 1/3 of the mince. Break it up with a spatula and cook until browned all over. Spoon into a clean dish, if needed, add a light drizzle of oil, and brown the next 1/3 of mince, repeating until all the mince is browned.
Lower heat to medium, then once the pot has cooled slightly, add the onion, carrot, and celery. Cook, stirring as needed, until vegetables are tender, 8-10 minutes.
Add the garlic and tomato purée and cook, stirring, until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add the tinned tomato, breaking the tomato up with a spatula, then pour in the beef stock.
Return the browned mince to the pot and add the bay leaves and season lightly with salt and pepper. Stir everything to combine.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low to maintain a very gentle simmer. Cover the pot with a lid and leave to cook for 2 hours, stirring very occasionally.
After the 2 hours, remove the lid and increase heat to medium, cook uncovered to reduce the liquid, about 30-45 minutes, stirring as needed. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed. Leave off heat until needed.
For the béchamel sauce, add the butter to a medium sized saucepan and set over medium heat. Once butter is melted, stir in the flour and continue stirring for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Using a whisk, slowly stir in a splash of milk to create a smooth paste. Continuing to whisk, slowly add the remaining milk. Add the nutmeg and a light sprinkle of salt.
Return to a medium heat and cook, stirring continuously, until béchamel has thickened and can coat the back of a spoon, it should be just a bit thicker than double cream.
Remove from heat and add the grated cheese, stir until completely melted into the sauce. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed.
Pre-heat oven to 180°C/160°C fan assisted.
To assemble the lasagne, spread a spoon of the beef ragu over the bottom of a baking dish, approx. 35x25cm in size.
Cover the base in a single layer of the pasta sheets. Break some as needed to fill any gaps.
Spread 1/3 of the beef ragu in an even layer on top of the pasta, then pour 250ml of the béchamel on top of the ragu.
Arrange another layer of pasta sheets, then spread half of the remaining ragu on top, followed by another 250ml béchamel.
Repeat the above, spreading the last of the ragu and another 250ml of the béchamel.
Finally, cover with one last layer of pasta sheets then pour the remaining béchamel sauce on top. Sprinkle the top with grated mozzarella.
Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 45 minutes. The top should be golden and the sauces bubbling around the edges of the dish. Tip: You can sit the lasagne dish in a large oven tray to catch any dripping sauce to keep the bottom of your oven clean.
Remove from the oven and leave to stand for about 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
