Lasagna

 

Beef Bolognese Sauce

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 brown onions, sliced
• 500g beef mince
• 80g streaky bacon, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 4 button mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp porcini powder
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 c beef stock
• 700g jar of passata
• 1/2 c red wine (or cranberry/pomegranate/grape juice)
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 sprigs thyme / 1 tsp dried thyme

Bechamel Sauce

• 50g unsalted butter
• 1/4 c flour
• 500ml full cream milk
• 100g vintage cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 heaped tablespoon grana padano or reggiano parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• sea salt flakes, to season
• freshly ground black pepper, to season

To Assemble

• 1 pkt lasagne sheets, you’ll need approx 250g
• 100g mozzarella cheese, grated

The Bolognese and bechamel are best made beforehand. Assemble in dutch oven and then cook using 36 briquettes to start, adding on additional at the end to brown the top.

Instructions

Bolognese

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F.
2. In a cast-iron French oven, add the oil to the pan. On a low heat, saute the onion until translucent.
3. Add the bacon and garlic and saute for 2 minutes.
4. Add the minced beef to the pot. Cook on low-med heat until the mince is just cooked.
5. Add to the pot the remaining ingredients. Stir to fully combine and bring to simmer point. Pop the lid on the pot and put it in the preheated oven to slow cook for 2 hours.
6. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Bechamel Sauce

When you have 30 minutes left of cooking time with the Bolognese, start on the bechamel sauce.

1. On low heat, melt the butter in a small saucepan or Dutch oven. Add the flour and stir until it forms a paste. Cook, stirring continuously, on low heat for 5 minutes. We are cooking out the flour to make a base for our sauce.
2. Add 1 cup of milk, continually stirring to allow the milk to incorporate into the flour mixture (or roux). At this stage, change from using your wooden spoon to stir to a whisk. It will make it much easier to get a smooth, creamy sauce.  Gradually add the remaining milk a little at a time, stirring continuously until the mixture resembles a thick, creamy sauce. A bechamel sauce can take a lot of liquid, so don’t be afraid if it looks really runny. Cooking the sauce will cause the sauce to thicken. If it thickens too much, just add a little more milk.
3. Add the grated cheeses and stir through to melt them into the sauce.
4. Season with sea salt flakes and freshly ground pepper.

To Assemble

1. Lay the bottom of your Dutch oven with lasagna sheets. If they go up the sides of the pot a little, that’s fine, as long as the base is covered. 
2. Top with roughly half of the Bolognese and spread evenly over the top of the pasta sheets.
3. Add a layer of lasagna sheets.

4. 
   Pour the bechamel sauce evenly over the top of the pasta sheets.

5. Add a layer of lasagna sheets.

6. Top with the remaining Bolognese mixture and gently spread into an even layer.
7. Add a layer of lasagna sheets.

8. Pour the remaining bechamel sauce evenly over the top of the pasta sheets.

9. Top with grated mozzarella.

10. Bake in dutch oven at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes. Add additional briquettes to the top of your dutch oven for a nice brown top.

11. Leave to rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.