Beef Lasagne

Ingredients

• 600g beef mince
• 150ml hot beef stock
• 1 medium carrot, grated
• 700g tomato passata
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 50g plain flour
• sea salt and black pepper, to taste
• 700ml milk, warmed
• 50g butter
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• 12 dried lasagne sheets
• 150g mozzarella, grated

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large heavy pan over medium–high. Season the mince generously with salt and pepper before it hits the pan, then brown it in two batches — all at once and the pan crowds, water comes out, and you've boiled the meat instead of browning it. You want a proper deep-brown crust and sticky bits catching on the base. Lift each batch out to a bowl.
2. Drop the heat to medium and add the onion, garlic, grated carrot and celery to the same pan. Cook 6–8 minutes until softened and starting to turn golden, scraping up the brown fond as the vegetables release their moisture. Watch the garlic — once it smells fragrant, keep things moving. Burnt garlic turns the whole ragu bitter.
3. Stir in the tomato purée and let it cook out for a minute against the hot pan — it should darken slightly and lose its raw, tinny edge. Return the beef, then pour in the passata, the hot beef stock, the lentils and the oregano. The stock is doing real work here: it breaks the passata down so it tastes of long-cooked tomato rather than reheated tin.
4. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 30–35 minutes, stirring now and then, loosening with a splash of water if it tightens too far. You're looking for thick, glossy, spoon-coating — the lentils should have collapsed into the sauce. Taste, season, taste again. Adjust now, not at the table.
5. While the ragu simmers, make the béchamel. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stir in the flour and cook 1–2 minutes until it smells biscuity — that's the raw flour cooking off. Pour in the warmed milk in three additions, whisking smooth between each, then simmer 3–4 minutes to a pourable, creamy sauce that coats the back of a spoon. Grate in the nutmeg, season with salt and pepper, and taste — a béchamel under-seasoned is a béchamel that tastes of nothing.
6. Assemble in a deep ovenproof dish: a thin slick of ragu on the base, a single layer of pasta sheets, more ragu, then a ladle of béchamel spread to the edges. Repeat for three layers in total, finishing with béchamel and the grated mozzarella. Make sure every sheet is fully covered in sauce — any dry corner will stay leathery.
7. Bake at 200°C fan for 30–35 minutes until the edges are bubbling fiercely and the top is deep golden with a few darker, blistered spots. A skewer pushed into the centre should come out hot to the lip.
8. Rest for 10 minutes — non-negotiable. Cut too soon and the layers slide; rested, they hold a clean square. Plate each portion with a drizzle of grassy extra virgin olive oil, a generous shower of freshly grated parmesan over the molten top, and the crisp green salad alongside.