Italian Lasagne – Recipes by Fresh Kitchen

I love comfort food and this Italian Lasagne ticks all my comfort boxes. It’s packed with my bold Big Batch Italian Tomato Sauce, my velvety, rich Big Batch French Béchamel Sauce, sheets of lasagne and of course the big hero, Italian Ragù. To get ahead make the tomato and béchamel sauces a day before. Assemble the lasagne and bake ahead will also give a depth of flavour that really does develop over time. Making it ahead and freezing it also gives you time to relax when you do want to eat it with friends and family.

I love mince. I also realise that not only is there a different version of mince in almost every country in the world, but there are different versions of mince sauce in almost every home you visit. In my family alone, there are probably 10 different ways to make mince. Making this lasagne I had to find the right Italian flavour profile and texture. I usually always cook my spaghetti bolognaise with a tin of tomatoes. There are no tinned tomatoes in this ragù, that gets added separately in the Big Batch Italian Tomato Sauce.

If you don’t feel like faffing with all the sauces and assembling then use this recipe for Spaghetti Bolognaise.

• 25 g butter
• 2 tbls olive oil
• 250 g bacon
• 2 onions about 270g
• 2 carrots 130g
• 2 celery stalks 100g
• 3 garlic cloves 15g
• 1.5 kg mince half beef half pork
• 150 ml dry white wine
• 3 tbls tomato paste
• 4 bay leaves
• 300 ml stock of choice hot
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Make Big Batch Tomato Sauce – see link above

Make Big Batch Bèchamel Sauce – see link above

• 18 sheets lasagne
• grated parmesan or hard cheese to finish

• Add butter and olive oil to the pot add the bacon, onions, carrots, celery, and garlic and cook for 6 to 8 minutes

  25 g butter, 2 tbls olive oil, 250 g bacon, 2 onions about 270g, 2 carrots 130g, 2 celery stalks 100g, 3 garlic cloves 15g

• Add the mince 250 g at a time and brown evenly ensuring the juices have evaporated before you add the next batch of mince until all the mince is brown

  1.5 kg mince half beef half pork

• Pour in the white wine and cook until almost evaporated

  150 ml dry white wine

• Add tomato paste and bay leaves and stir to coat the mince evenly

  3 tbls tomato paste, 4 bay leaves

• Cook until you start to hear a crackle on the bottom of the pot this means the mince is taking on a lovely flavour of the tomato paste and the beef and pork mince, caramelising in the process. This is where the flavour is amplified. Stir occasionally to ensure it doesn’t burn.

• Pour in the hot stock of choice and cover and simmer gently for 45min

  300 ml stock of choice

• Check seasoning to ensure it’s not too salty add salt and pepper to your taste and the nutmeg

  1/2 tsp ground nutmeg