Serves 8-10
adjust servings:

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For the meat sauce:

For the cheese sauce:

To assemble:

To serve:

  1. Trim and halve the carrots, then add to a processor and blitz to roughly the same size as the mince. Set aside.
  2. Peel and halve the onions, add to the food processor and blitz. Repeat with celery. Set aside.
  3. Heat half of the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Once hot, add the bacon and stir-fry for two minutes, or until the bacon starts to crisp up.
  4. Add all of the minced meat, seasoning well with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for at least 10 minutes until browned; use a wooden spoon to break it up as you go. Remove from the pan and set aside.
  5. Heat the remaining oil in the pan over a medium and add the blitzed veg and the crushed garlic. Cook for 10-15 minutes until softened.
  6. Add the herbs, tomato purée and browned meat back to the pan. Stir to combine.
  7. Add the wine and simmer until evaporated.
  8. Add the chopped tomatoes, passata and stock.
  9. Give everything a good stir and reduce the heat to low. Leave to simmer for about one hour, or until thickened and reduced, stirring occasionally.
  10. While the ragù cooks away, make your white sauce. Melt the butter in a large pot over a medium-high heat. Once melted, add the flour and quickly whisk into the butter.
  11. Add about one quarter of the milk and whisk quickly to combine. As soon as it has combined, add another quarter of the milk. Repeat until the milk is used up; you may need more or less depending on how thick you want the sauce.
  12. Reduce the heat to low and add the Cheddar and mustard, whisking until melted. Season to taste.
  13. Once the ragù is ready, preheat the oven to 190˚C/170˚C fan/gas mark 5.
  14. To build your lasagne, spoon a quarter of the ragù into a large deep ovenproof dish (roughly 25cm x 30cm) and spread it out evenly.
  15. Cover with lasagne sheets, making sure they completely cover the sauce in one layer. Spread over a layer of white sauce. Repeat this three times, finishing with a layer of white sauce.
  16. Sprinkle with the grated Chedder and arrange the Mozzarella slices over. Cover with aluminium foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake, uncovered, for a further 10-15 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
  17. Remove the lasagne from the oven and leave to sit for 5-10 minutes before serving with salad and garlic bread.

Note:
Fresh thyme can be used as an alternative to dried thyme, if you wish.
Fresh lasagne sheets can be used as an alternative to dried lasagne sheets, if you wish.

Test Kitchen tip

Make double the ragù and transfer half into freezer bags, portioning up as appropriate for your family. Allow to cool to room temperature, then pop in the freezer for another day. It’s a good idea to freeze them flat so that you can reheat them quickly and easily. We also recommend adding a label and date to them to avoid a game of freezer roulette in a few weeks’ time!

 

 

 

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