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Possibly one of my greatest achievements ever, mastering a great lasagna. Many people have asked me for the recipe and I still cannot believe I’m publishing it for all to have. But it’s all about sharing right?

Ingredients - Serves 8

Extra virgin olive oil
2 chopped onions
2 finely chopped carrots
2 finely chopped celery sticks
600grams ground meat (I like using veal but beef or a mix of beef and pork will do too)
1 glass white wine – actually 2 glasses, one for you and one to cook with
Chopped tomatoes x 4/5 cans
5 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons  flour
4 cups milk
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 Packet lasagna noodles

First start with making the meat sauce – this can be done a day in advance, or you can make extra and freeze some it makes a great pasta sauce.

Meat Sauce

Heat pan over a medium heat, drizzle with olive oil, add the onions, carrots and celery - cook until soft (15 minutes).
Add the minced meat and mix until meat is brown – if  a lot of liquid came out from the meat drain it before proceeding.
Once the meat is browned; add one cup of wine and simmer until the pan is once again dry. In the meantime pour a glass for yourself.
Add the tomatoes and enough water to cover meat.
Bring the sauce to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is no longer watery, at this point you can add 2/3 bay leaves.
Cook for aproxximately an hour, once done remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.

Béchamel Sauce

Heat the butter over medium-low heat until it melts, add sieved flour and stir until you get a smooth paste.
Over medium heat, cook adding the milk, gradually whisking until you get a smooth cream.
Season with salt and grated nutmeg – you can add some parmesan if you want too.

Layering

Many people line the dish with butter before they start layer, well I can assure you this is not necessary, just pour some of the meat sauce on the bottom of the dish so lasagna does not get stuck.

Now start layering, meat sauce, lasagna noodles, Béchamel, Parmesan, I like adding some mozzarella to my Béchamel layer and I always put meat and Béchamel sauce on the top and sprinkle with parmesan. There’s no right or wrong method of layering, so please yourself.

Cover dish in foil and cook for 30 mins then remove foil and cook for an extra 10 to brown the top.

The Hard Part...

Now for the hardest part, waiting for aprox 10 mins for it to cool down a little before serving - firstly because it would be too hot and secondly because its easier to serve and will not fall apart.

Image by Gingerbread9