What Baba Cooked

Lasagne was one of the very first things I learned to cook as a newlywed, and was one of the first dishes where I wanted it to be authentic, without cutting any corners. I’ve listed the quantities below to make a lasagne for four people, but I make mine with double all the quantities below, and it feeds eight easily. I should also add that I only put the bechamel sauce on the final top layer, and not on all the layers as this is what my family prefers. It also saves a bit of time, and means that I assemble the lasagne all the way to the last layer, then I pour the bechamel over and pop it in the oven.

What you need:

• Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• A few garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1kg pork and veal mince
• 1 tbspn tomato paste
• 200 ml red wine
• 1 bottle tomato passata
• salt, pepper
• 50 g butter
• 50 g plain flour
• approx 500 ml milk
• 1 tspn ground nutmeg
• 1 pack fresh lasagne sheets
• Grana Padano cheese, grated
• mozzarella cheese, grated

What to do:

1. For the bolognaise sauce, heat the olive oil on a medium heat. Saute the onion for about twenty minutes on low. Add the garlic and saute for a few minutes until it’s all soft and slightly caramelised.

2. Add the mince and turn up the heat to brown the meat, making sure you keep breaking up the mince. Cook until it’s browned and there are no lumps.  Add the wine, turn the heat all the way up to cook off the alcohol. When it has reduced a bit stir through the tomato paste and passata and lower to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. You can also add some dried basil or oregano at this stage if you like. Leave it to simmer for about an hour on very low, stirring occasionally.

3. When the sauce is ready heat the oven to moderate, about 160 C fan forced. At this stage I assemble the lasagne up to the last layer ready for the bechamel. I spoon a bit of sauce into the bottom of a rectangular baking dish, add a layer of pasta sheets, then a layer of the bolognaise sauce and the cheeses. Repeat until you’ve used up all the mince. I then finish with a final pasta sheet, on which I pour over the bechamel.

4. For the bechamel start by melting the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. When the butter has melted stir through the flour with a wooden spoon, until it forms a smooth paste. Cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes. Then pour in the milk, and turn the heat up to high, and begin whisking to incorporate the flour/butter paste into the milk. Add a little salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and keep whisking. The sauce will slowly thicken. Keep whisking as it thickens so it stays nice and smooth. (It’s hard to say how long this part will  take, the sauce is ready when it’s a thick pour-able consistency, but not runny). If you like you can whisk some of the cheeses through the sauce when it’s done.

5. Pour the bechamel sauce over the top layer of pasta, and pop it in the oven. Cook for about 45 minutes, checking half way through that it’s not too brown. If it is, either cover it with aluminum foil or turn the oven down a little.