Lasagne (Italian)

Traditional Italian lasagna recipe with béchamel sauce, bolognese sauce, pasta and mozzarella cheese. Delicious and satiating.

Bolognese Sauce:
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
5-8 cloves garlic
1 medium white onion
2 lbs lean ground beef
1 cup carrot, finely minced
1 cup celery, finely minced
1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes, peeled
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. beef bouillon
1 tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. black pepper, freshly cracked

Béchamel Sauce:
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
¾ cup all-purpose flour, unbleached
6 cups 2% milk
1 tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. black pepper, freshly cracked

Lasagna:
9 lasagna sheets, boiled or oven ready
8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded

Garnish:
1 Tbsp. fresh parsley chopped

Make the Bolognese Sauce:
Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the olive oil, garlic and onion. Cook for a minute or two until fragrant without browning. Then add the minced meat.

Sauté the minced meat until it is no longer pink. Add the carrots and celery and sauté for one minute. Add the peeled tomatoes and the tomato paste. Stir to mix everything together. Heat everything over medium heat and bring to a boil.

Add basil, oregano, beef stock, salt and pepper. Stir to mix. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook for another 10 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.

Make the Béchamel Sauce:
Put the butter in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat. Once the butter has melted (so that it does not brown), add the flour to the pan. Mix everything with a whisk. The mixture will be slightly lumpy.

Immediately add the milk to the saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir continuously until the mixture is smooth and thick.

When the mixture has reached the desired consistency, add the salt and pepper. Stir until everything is well blended and remove from the heat.

Assemble the Lasagna:
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C/170°C fan, Gas Mark 5).

Spread a thin layer of bolognese sauce in the bottom of a 9x13" deep baking dish.

Spread three rectangular lasagna sheets first, then top with ⅓ of the bolognese sauce and finally with ⅓ of the béchamel sauce.

Repeat two more times. There should be three layers of lasagna/bolognese sauce/béchamel sauce in total.

The top layer should be the béchamel sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Put the casserole in the oven and place a cookie sheet under the casserole to catch potential drippings. Bake for 45 minutes, then broil (optional) for 2 minutes to brown the top.

Remove the pan from the oven and let stand 20 minutes before cutting the lasagna. When rested, sprinkle with parsley and serve.