Lasagne

Here it is, the all time family favourite for a Saturday Night.  I will serve it with garlic bread and salad.  There might also be some sweetcorn if I remember to take it out of the microwave this time! Here's a pic of the ragu sauce ready to simmer for at least 40 minutes, but ideally an hour.   As an aside I have seen pre made béchamel sauce in a jar in the shops, I've not tried it but it might be a good cheat, you never know.

Ingredients
12 sheets of lasagne
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 sticks of celery, finely sliced
1 large carrot, finely diced
3 cloves of garlic, bashed
500g minced beef
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
4 tbsp red wine, save the rest for the cook and sous chef
1 teasp dried oregano, or a small handful of fresh oregano picked from the stem
1 bay leaf
Grated cheddar and parmesan cheese mixed together to sprinkle all over the lasagne before it goes in the oven.

Method
In a large pan fry the onion, carrot, celery and garlic in the oil for 5 minutes without colour.  Stir in the mince and combine with the veg and cook for a further 5 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and tomato puree, wine and season to taste. Cover and simmer gently for at least 40 minutes and add more liquid if needed or cooking for longer.  Once cooked, I will leave it to one side until I am ready to build the Lasagne later this afternoon. If you can make it 24 hours ahead and leave it in the fridge it just gets better and better.

Next make the béchamel sauce.

Ingredients 
400 mls full fat milk or semi skimmed if you must
A few slices of raw onion
1 bay leaf
3 tbsp butter
5 tbsp plain flour.

Method
Slowly bring the milk onion and bay leaf to the boil.  Turn off the heat and leave it to cool until only warm.  Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and mix together to form a roux and cook gently so as to lose the raw taste of the flour.  Strain the milk in to a jug and gradually add it to the roux stirring all the time to avoid lumpiness.  Once all the milk is added bring to slowly to the boil and simmer for a couple of minutes whilst still stirring to stop it catching on the pan. Set aside. If it i too thick just mix in some extra milk.
Lightly grease an oven proof dish and line the base with lasagne, then add a layer of meat, then a layer of sauce, continue the pattern finishing with a layer of sauce.  Sprinkle generously with the cheeses and bake in a preheated oven at 200C for 25 minutes until golden and bubbling.

Ta Dah!