Lasagne Bolognese

• 70 g Wheat flour
  Swaps (2)
• 90 g Butter (70 g for the béchamel, the rest diced for the top)
  Swaps (2)
• 2 tablespoons Olive oil
• 1 u Onion (finely chopped)
• 1 u Carrot (finely chopped)
• 1 u Celery (stick, finely chopped)
• Salt (to taste)
• Black pepper (freshly ground)
• 200 g Ground Pork
  Swaps (1)
• 1 tablespoon Tomato Puree (concentrated)
• 400 g Ground Beef (beef, not too lean)
  Swaps (4)
• 250 ml Beef Stock (hot, or water)
  Swaps (1)
• 1 pinch Nutmeg (freshly grated)
• 1.2 l Whole Milk (150 ml for the ragù and 1 litre for the béchamel)Original: 1150 ml
  Swaps (2)
• 120 g Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano, grated)
  Swaps (1)
• 150 ml Dry White Wine
  Swaps (1)
• 300 g Passata
• 250 g Lasagne Sheets (about 12, dried or fresh)
  Swaps (2)
• 100 g Pancetta (cured and unsmoked, finely diced)

Amounts are shown in your preferred measurement system; conversions are approximate and the original recipe is kept.

Instructions

1. 1

   Very finely chop the onion, carrot and celery, by hand or in a food processor, without turning them to mush. Dice the pancetta.

2. 2

   Heat the oil in a wide, heavy-based pan and render the pancetta over medium-low heat. Add the vegetables with a pinch of salt and sweat until soft and translucent, without letting them colour.

   10 min

3. 3

   Turn up the heat, add both meats and break them up with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring, until the liquid they release has evaporated and the meat starts to brown and sizzle.

   12 min

4. 4

   Pour in the wine and let it bubble away almost completely, scraping the bottom to lift anything stuck to it.

   3 min

5. 5

   Add the passata and the tomato purée loosened with a little stock. Once it boils, turn the heat right down, half cover and let the ragù cook very slowly, barely bubbling, for 2½ hours. Stir now and then and add hot stock if it dries out.

   3 hr

6. 6

   Stir in the 150 ml of milk, cook uncovered for 10 more minutes and season with salt and pepper. The ragù should be thick, not soupy.

   10 min

7. 7

   For the béchamel, melt 70 g of butter in a saucepan, add the flour and cook for 2 minutes without letting it colour. Gradually pour in the warm milk, whisking constantly, and simmer gently until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Season with salt and nutmeg. It should be looser than a béchamel for croquettes.

   12 min

8. 8

   Preheat the oven to 180 °C. If your sheets need it, boil them in salted water for half the time on the packet and lay them out on a clean tea towel. Butter a dish of about 30 x 20 cm and build the layers: a little béchamel on the bottom, pasta, ragù, béchamel and Parmesan. Repeat to make 4 or 5 layers and finish with béchamel, plenty of Parmesan and dots of butter.

   25 min

9. 9

   Bake for 35 minutes, until the top is golden and bubbling at the edges. Let the lasagne rest out of the oven for 15 minutes before cutting.

   50 min