Angela's Meat Lasagne

Ingredients

• 1.1 onion, chopped; for tomato meat sauce
• 2.6 tablespoon oil, for tomato meat sauce
• 3.chillies, chopped; 3–4 to taste
• 4.600 gram beef mince
• 5.0.5 cup dry white wine
• 6.6 Italian canned tomatoes, 6 x 425 g tins
• 7.salt
• 8.black pepper
• 9.sugar, pinch
• 10.250 ml milk, for bechamel sauce
• 11.25 gram butter, for bechamel sauce
• 12.2 tablespoon flour, for bechamel sauce
• 13.nutmeg, pinch; for bechamel sauce
• 14.salt and pepper, for bechamel sauce
• 15.onion, bay leaf, peppercorns, optional flavourings for bechamel; infuse in milk then strain out
• 16.fresh spinach lasagne, fresh green (spinach) sheets preferred
• 17.mozzarella cheese, grated
• 18.parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Method

1. 1.TOMATO MEAT SAUCE: Sauté the onion in the oil. Add the chillies and cook a little while longer.
2. 2.Add the mince meat and stir fry until quite dry. Throw over the wine and stir fry again until absorbed.
3. 3.Add the tinned tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar.
4. 4.Simmer for about 1½ hours. While the sauce is simmering, break up the tomatoes with a fork. Set aside and cool.
5. 5.MEDIUM BECHAMEL SAUCE (makes 250 ml): Heat the milk in a saucepan until hot. If using optional flavourings, add them to the milk, bring to the boil, remove from heat and leave to infuse for 10 minutes. Strain the milk to remove the flavourings.
6. 6.Make a roux by melting the butter in a heavy saucepan. When it begins to foam, whisk in the flour and cook, stirring all the time until foaming — about 1 minute.
7. 7.Remove the pan from the heat and add half the milk, whisking constantly.
8. 8.Return the pan to the heat and whisk until the sauce begins to thicken. Add the rest of the milk off the heat and whisk.
9. 9.Return to the heat and bring to the boil, whisking until the sauce thickens. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper and simmer a further 2–3 minutes.
10. 10.PASTA: Try to get or make fresh lasagne verdi (spinach). Do not buy dry green pasta — it is tasteless and has no spinach.
11. 11.Only add 3–4 pieces of lasagne to the boiling water at a time. Only cook 1–2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. Lay each piece flat on a cloth and repeat as many times as needed.
12. 12.TO ASSEMBLE: Lay down a very thin layer of tomato-meat sauce on the base of a rectangular baking dish. The dish should be no deeper than 4.5–5 cm (1.5–2 in), longish and shallow.
13. 13.Put a layer of lasagne over the tomato sauce. Spread over a thin layer of tomato-meat sauce. Sprinkle with a little grated mozzarella and a little parmesan. Put over a layer of pasta.
14. 14.Then: layer of tomato-meat sauce; grated mozzarella and parmesan sparingly; dot with a little bechamel; a layer of pasta; tomato-meat sauce; sprinkling of mozzarella and parmesan; dots of bechamel — continue layering in this way.
15. 15.Top with some parmesan. Cover dish with tin foil.
16. 16.Bake 10 minutes in 160°C (350°F) oven. Remove the foil and bake another 15–20 minutes.
17. 17.To test: put in a knife. If the knife is hot, the pasta is ready.

Notes

• 6 large tins of tomatoes (6 x 425 g) for 600 g mince is as written — the sauce is intentionally very tomato-forward and simmers for 1½ hours to reduce.
• If not using meat: make a simple tomato sauce instead — use 1 chopped onion, 4 grated sticks of celery (white part only), 1 grated carrot and 4 tins of tomatoes. Use the same method as for the meat sauce.
• PASTA HINTS: To rewarm pasta — pour boiling water over pasta through a strainer. Do not add oil to the pasta water when cooking. Rather toss oil through cooked pasta.