Lasagne alla Bolognese

THIS IS one of the most popular dishes at the restaurant and people have told me that we have the best lasagne for miles around.

Today we are going to share with you how we make this world- renowned dish and let you bring a little Amici magic into your kitchen.

There are many variations of lasagne depending on which part of Italy you come from, for example , in the northern part of Italy, where it’s claimed the dish was invented, they make the pasta sheets with egg and flour, due to the amount of farming in that region, whereas in the south they use semolina and water. Both taste equally delicious.

It can also be made with a whole variety of different ingredients like ricotta and spinach, tomato and mozzarella, ragu and parmesan and an old Neapolitan favourite meatball and boiled egg!

The type of meat can also be very varied ranging from pork, chicken, beef or even soya mince for the health conscious.

But less of the chit chat and let’s focus on making this masterpiece.

Ingredients - Serves eight people

Bolognese Sauce

• 1 carrot (finely chopped)

• 1 glass of red wine

• 1 white onion (finely chopped)

• 250gr lean beef mince meat

• 250ml passata di pomodoro

• 1 spoon tomato puree

• 1 celery (finely chopped)

• Salt & pepper

• 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• Fresh basil

Béchamel Sauce

• 100gr unsalted butter

• 100gr ‘00’ flour

• 1ltr milk

• Pinch of salt

You will also need

• 500gr fresh lasagna sheets

• 200gr parmesan cheese (Parmigiano-Reggiano)

• 100gr grated mozzarella (optional)

Preparation

Let’s start with stage one, the Bolognese sauce

• In a large saucepan heat the olive oil then add the carrot, celery and garlic. Stir fry this for a few minutes until golden.

• Add the mince meat and stir well trying to break up any lumps that stick together. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and leave to cook over a low heat stop

• Once the meat is cooked, which should only take around five minutes, add the glass of red wine. Cook this for a further few minutes to let the alcohol evaporate then add the tomato puree. Give this a good stir then add the passata and a few fresh basil leaves.

• Let this mixture cook for at least one hour over a low heat stirring occasionally. This is also how we make the sauce for our spaghetti Bolognese!

Whilst this is cooking we will prepare the béchamel sauce.

• In a medium saucepan add the milk and bring to the boil.

• Whilst the milk is getting hot, in a small separate saucepan melt the butter, be careful here not to overcook and burn the butter.

• Once melted add the flour and give the mixture a good whisk. This is called Roux and is used in many sauces to make them ‘thicker’ in texture.

• Once the milk is hot add the Roux and whisk again, quite hard to avoid the flour going lumpy.

• Add a pinch of salt and pepper and set to one side.