Traditional Lasagne
Discover how to make lasagne the Italian way for a classic family dinner. We show you how to make white sauce for lasagne and how to layer lasagne with the béchamel sauce and deliciously rich bolognese before baking to perfection.
Ingredients
For the Bolognese Sauce:
2 tablespoons Napolina Olive Oil
1 onion, very finely diced
2 celery sticks, very finely diced
1 large carrot, very finely diced
500g good-quality minced beef
4 tablespoons Napolina Double Concentrate Tomato Purée
2 x 390g cartons Napolina Chopped Tomatoes
1 bay leaf
For the béchamel sauce:
250ml semi-skimmed milk
A pinch of nutmeg
15g butter
25g plain flour
Salt
Black pepper
For the lasagne:
14 sheets Napolina Egg Lasagne
35g fresh Parmesan cheese
Method
How to make Bolognese sauce:
Chop an onion, dice 2 celery sticks and a large carrot.
Add olive oil to a pan. Add the onion, celery and carrot and fry for 5 minutes until soft and starting to colour.
Take 500g good quality mince. Add to the pan and cook for 5 minutes until the mince is brown.
Stir in Napolina Double Concentrate Tomato Purée. Take 2 cartons of chopped tomatoes and add to the rest of the ingredients.
Add a bay leaf and simmer gently for 1½ - 2 hours. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the hob and take the bay leaf out.
How to make white sauce for lasagne:
Pour milk into a large non-stick saucepan.
Add nutmeg and bring to the boil. In a separate saucepan, melt butter and add flour. Beat well and cook for 2 minutes.
Remove the milk from the heat and add a little to the flour mixture. Combine well and continue to add the milk a little at a time, whisking continually.
Preheat the oven to 180°c / 160°c Fan / Gas Mark 4.
Cover the bottom of a lasagne dish with 1 layer of pasta sheets.
Then add a layer of bolognese sauce. Follow this with a layer of the béchamel sauce.
Repeat the layering process twice until all the ingredients have been used.
Grate over fresh Parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.
