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6 servings
My son's flat mate, young Josh, treated us to traditional lasagne last night. The béchamel was perfectly creamy with lots of cheddar cheese and the meat sauce was nice and juicy. Total comfort food.
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250 gm lasagne
Béchamel sauce:
100 gm butter
125 ml (1/2 cup) cake flour
125 ml (1/2 cup) cheddar cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste
1 litre (4 cups) milk
Meat sauce:
45 ml (3 tablespoons) olive oil
125 gm streaky bacon, finely chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 carrot cut into tiny dice
2 sticks of celery cut into tiny dice
750 gm beef mince
1 x 400gm tin of Italian tomatoes, chopped
1 x 115gm tin of tomato paste
250 ml (1 cup) white wine
250 ml (1 cup) beef stock
5 ml (1 teaspoon) dried oregano
15 ml. 1 tablespoon) fresh basil, shredded
2 bay leaves
salt and ground black pepper to taste
Topping:
125 ml (1/2 cup) grated cheddar cheese
5 ml (1 teaspoon) sweet paprika
Preheat the oven to 180 ¢ªC (350 ¢ªF). Grease a large ovenproof dish.
1. Make the meat sauce. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the bacon, onion, garlic, carrot and celery for 5 minutes. Add the mince and cook until browned, breaking it up with a fork. Add the tomatoes with the juice, the tomato paste, wine, stock and herbs. Turn the heat to low and simmer the sauce for 1 hour. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.
2. Make the white sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute over medium heat. Gradually stir in the milk with a whisk until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Add the cheese and season to taste.
3. Spoon some of the white sauce in the bottom of the ovenproof dish. Layer sheets of lasagne on the white sauce, top with meat sauce, another layer of lasagne and then meat sauce, and continue in this fashion, finishing with a thick layer of white sauce. Top with the grated cheddar cheese and dust with the paprika. Set aside for 40 minutes.
4. Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes until golden. Rest in the warming oven for 10 minutes before serving.
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;)