Love Ya Lasagne – Italian Comfort Food

Step 1: Prepare Vegetables (Mirepoix)

Dice 2 onions, 3 carrots, and 3 sticks of celery. Mince 4 cloves of garlic.

Step 2: Brown Mince

Heat olive oil in a large pan over high heat. Add 700g beef mince and 700g pork mince (in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding) and brown, cooking out all the liquid. Remove browned mince and set aside.

Step 3: Render Pancetta

Add 300g diced pancetta to the hot pan (no extra oil needed due to fat from pancetta). Cook until crispy and fat is rendered.

Step 4: Sauté Mirepoix

Add the diced onions, carrots, and celery to the pan with the pancetta fat. Sauté for about 10 minutes until onions are translucent.

Step 5: Add Mince and Wine

Return the browned mince to the pan with the vegetables. Pour in 500ml of red wine. Cook for approximately 5 minutes to cook off the alcohol.

Step 6: Add Rosemary and Tomato Paste

Add an optional handful of rosemary and 300g of tomato paste. Fry for 2-3 minutes.

Step 7: Add Stock and Simmer

Pour in 1L of chicken stock. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low, cover with a lid, and cook for at least 45 minutes (longer is better), stirring occasionally to prevent drying out.

Step 8: Prepare Pasta Dough

Combine 300g plain/00 flour and a pinch of salt on a clean surface. Make a well in the center. Whisk 3 large eggs in a separate bowl and pour into the well. Gradually incorporate flour into the eggs.

Step 9: Knead Dough

Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. If too dry, add a tiny splash of water. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30-40 minutes.

Step 10: Roll Pasta Sheets

Dust the workbench with flour. Take the chilled pasta dough and flatten it with a rolling pin until it's thin enough to fit into a pasta machine.

Step 11: Use Pasta Machine

Feed the dough through the pasta machine on the thickest setting. Fold the dough and feed it through again. Repeat 2-3 times on each setting, gradually decreasing the thickness until you reach setting 6 (or desired thinness for lasagne).

Step 12: Cut Pasta Sheets

Cut the rolled pasta sheets to fit your lasagne tray.

Step 13: Blanch Pasta Sheets

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch pasta sheets one at a time for about 30 seconds. Immediately transfer to an ice bath to stop cooking and firm them up.

Step 14: Drain and Prepare Pasta

Remove blanched pasta sheets from the ice bath and pat dry with paper towel. Place paper towel between sheets to prevent sticking.

Step 15: Prepare Béchamel

Melt 60g butter in a saucepan over low-medium heat. Add 2 1/2-3 tablespoons of flour and whisk to form a roux. Fry the roux for 1-2 minutes.

Step 16: Add Milk to Roux

Slowly whisk in 1L of warm full cream milk to the roux. Continue whisking until the sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper.

Step 17: Assemble Lasagne

Preheat oven to 180°C (≈355°F) (approximately 355°F) (with foil) or 200°C (≈390°F) (approximately 390°F) (without foil). Start with a layer of bolognese sauce at the bottom of the baking tray.

Step 18: Layer Lasagne

Place a layer of pasta sheets over the sauce. Add a layer of béchamel sauce. Repeat layers of bolognese, pasta, and béchamel until the tray is almost full, ending with a béchamel layer.

Step 19: Bake Lasagne (Covered)

Cover the lasagne with foil and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Step 20: Bake Lasagne (Uncovered)

Remove foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly. Grate fresh Parmesan cheese over the hot lasagne. Add a little more pepper if desired.

Step 21: Rest and Serve

Let the lasagne rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.

• Cook the liquid out of the mince for browning, not boiling.

• Fry pancetta until crispy to render fat.

• Cook wine off completely before adding other liquids.

• Warm milk for béchamel, don't boil.

• Don't overfill the baking tray to prevent overflow.

• Let lasagne rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.

• Use only beef or only pork mince.

• Use bacon instead of pancetta.

• Use store-bought fresh or dried pasta sheets (adjust cooking time).

• Use water instead of red wine.

• Add mozzarella to béchamel.