Beef Lasagna (Lasagna Bolognese)

As a huge fan of lasagna (like Garfield), I tried out various recipes to create the taste that I fell in love with. The recipe below is one of the simpler versions that I have made. For a rich taste as well as firm structure of the lasagna, I do emphasize on preparing the ragú way earlier (it would be great if you could do it like the day before, but if you can't, it is not a problem either) and the layered, structured lasagna to be fridged overnight before baking.

I honestly think that the picture does not do the justice at all(but you can see the shape is firm). I really need to work on my photography skills.

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Serving: 5-6 pax

Time: Ragú (1 hr 15 mins), Bechamel (10 mins), Baking (30-40 mins)

Ingredients:

Ragú

• 1 yellow onion, diced

• 5-6 cloves of garlic, minced

• 400-500 grams of lean minced beef

• 1 can of tomato base sauce (store bought pasta sauce is fine, better still, use blended canned whole tomato)

• 100 grams of tomato purée

• 500ml water (+1/2 beef stock cube)

• 2 carrots, grated

• 2 cans or 200 grams of mushroom of choice (I personally love straw mushroom and white mushroom), sliced

• 2 bay leaves

• Rosemary

• Oregano

• Thyme

• Black pepper

• Salt to taste

• Sugar (prefer brown sugar) to taste

• 1-2 tbsp Olive oil

Bechamel

• 20-30 grams butter

• 20-30 grams all-purpose flour

• 650 ml of prepared, powder full cream milk

• 100 ml of cooking cream

• Pinch of nutmeg

• Salt to taste

• Black pepper

• Shredded mozzarella (optional, I would put this to have a more solid taste in the white sauce)

Others

• 160-250 gram lasagna sheets (1 box of dry lasagna sheet)

• Mozzarella/Parmesan cheese for topping

Preparation:

• Prepare the ragú. Add olive oil into sauce pan at medium heat.

• Add in the diced onions and stir occasionally until it has a nice aroma, then add in the garlic. Stir until it is slightly golden.

• Add in the minced meat and stir it until all the ingredients are well mixed and the meat is well cooked. I also season the meat at this time with salt and black pepper.

*caramelized, woops. Make sure not to use fatty minced beef as it will be too greasy and has a stronger smell.

• Add in tomato base sauce and puree and stir until well mixed. Add in water(+beef stock cube) and bring to simmer with medium-high heat. Next, add in the mushrooms, carrots, bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and black pepper and bring it to boil for about 3 minutes.

• Add in salt (if you think the salt is just right, you would want to add a bit more salt) and sugar to taste. Lower the heat to medium and simmer with lid on (stir occasionally) for about an hour.

• Set to cool for as long as you want (the longer the better, but not too long I suppose) to bring out the natural tartness of the tomato.

• Prepare bechamel. Melt the butter into saucepan at medium-low heat and add flour gradually to make the roux and cook the flour thoroughly (it should have a nice buttery color and not brown).

• Once your roux is smooth, add in cooking cream and milk gradually while continuously stirring it to make sure there are no lumps. While it simmers, add nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

• Stir for another minute and remove from heat. If you decide to put in the cheese (my personal recommendation), this is the time to add and combine nicely.

• Build the lasagna. Grease lightly the baking dish. Spread the ragú, followed by the bechamel, and lastly top it with the lasagna sheets. Repeat until you get the thickness you would want (recommended to have at least 4 stacks).The topmost lasagna sheet should be covered with the sauce.

• Store in refrigerator overnight.

• Pre-heat oven at 180°C (356°F) for about 5 minutes. At the same time, top your lasagna with grated cheese (I usually use mozzarella, but people do use parmesan).

• Bake the lasagna for 30-35 minutes at 180°C, and if the cheese is still not golden, I set the oven to fan with upper heat mode for 2 minutes.

• Once golden brown, take it out from oven and let it cool for about 30 minutes before serving.

I would say that the taste of the sauce is even better after 24 hours because it is more tart and flavorful (worth the wait!).