Ingredients
- 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
- 100 gr. higher-welfare smoked streaky bacon
- olive oil
- 1000 gr. quality minced beef
- 1000 gr. higher-welfare minced pork
- 4 carrots
- 2 onions
- 4 sticks of celery
- 2 heaped tablespoons tomato purée
- 1600 gr. plum tomatoes
- 350 gr. dried lasagne sheets
White sauce
- 150 gr. mature Cheddar cheese
- 2 medium leeks
- 2 fresh bay leaves
- 4 tablespoons plain flour
- 1 litre semi-skimmed milk
- 1 whole nutmeg , for grating
Method
- Strip and finely chop the rosemary leaves and finely chop the bacon.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large casserole pan on a high heat.
- Once hot, add the rosemary and bacon and fry for 2′, or until the bacon starts to crisp up, stirring regularly.
- Add all the minced meat, using a wooden spoon to break it up as you go.
- Reduce the heat to medium and cook for at least 10′, or until all the liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally.
- Place the coarse grater attachment in your food processor and grate the Cheddar, then tip into a bowl.
- Replace the grater with the regular blade.
- Trim and halve the carrots, then add to the processor and blitz to roughly the same size as the mince.
- Peel and halve the onions, add them to the carrot and blitz again.
- Tip into the pan with the mince while you get on with blitzing and adding the celery.
- Cook for 15 – 20′, or until the vegetables start to soften, stirring regularly.
- Next, add the tomato purée and plum tomatoes, breaking them up with a spoon.
- Fill each of the tins with water and tip into the pan.
- Give everything a good stir and reduce the heat to low.
- Leave to simmer around 2 hours, or until thickened and reduced, stirring occasionally.
White sauce
- Trim, wash and finely slice the leeks, then add to a pan along with 2 tablespoons of oil and the bay leaves.
- Stir well and season with a tiny pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
- Reduce the heat to low and cook for 30 minutes, or until sweet and softened, adding splashes of water, if needed.
- Add the flour and stir well to coat, then gradually add the milk, stirring continuously.
- Turn the heat up to medium, bring to the boil, then reduce to low and cook for 5 – 10′, or until thickened, stirring regularly.
- Carefully transfer the sauce to the food processor and blitz until smooth and silky.
- Add half the grated cheese and finely grate over half the nutmeg and mix well. Season to taste.
- Once the ragù is ready, preheat the oven to 190 ºC.
- Season the ragù to taste, then transfer half into freezer bags, portioning up as appropriate for your family.
- Allow to cool to room temperature,then pop in the freezer for another day. A good idea is to freeze them flat so that you can reheat them quickly.
- To build your lasagne, spoon a quarter of the ragù into a large deep ovenproof dish, roughly 25×30 cm, and spread it out evenly.
- Spoon over a quarter of the white sauce, then snap over some lasagne sheets, making sure they completely cover the sauce in one layer.
- Repeat this 3 times, finishing with a layer of white sauce.
- Sprinkle over the remaining cheese and bake the lasagne in the oven for 45′ or until golden and bubbling.
- Remove the lasagne from the oven and leave to sit for 5 – 10′ before serving.