Name: Lasagna
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 3 h 30 min
Total time: 4 h
Yield: 8–10
Cuisine: Australian
Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 onion, finely chopped; 1 medium carrot, finely diced; 1 celery stick, finely diced; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 1 kg beef mince; 800 g can crushed tomato; 60 ml (¼ cup) tomato paste; 250 ml (1 cup) dry red wine; 3 beef stock cubes, crumbled; 2 bay leaves; ½ tsp dried thyme; ½ tsp dried oregano; 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce; 1–2 tsp sugar, if needed; Salt and pepper; Cheese sauce: 60 g butter; 75 g (½ cup) plain flour; 1 L (4 cups) milk; 200 g (2 cups) grated Gruyère, Colby or cheddar; Pinch of nutmeg; 350 g fresh lasagna sheets (or 250 g dried); 150 g (1½ cups) grated mozzarella

Method

Ragu: cook onion, garlic, celery and carrot in oil 10 minutes without browning. Add beef; brown. Add remaining ragu ingredients except sugar. Simmer covered 1½–2 hours, then uncovered 30 minutes until rich and thick. Season; add sugar if needed.
Cheese sauce: melt butter; stir in flour 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk; cook until thick. Off heat, stir in cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
Heat oven to 180°C. In a 33 × 22 cm dish, smear a little ragu, then layer sheets, ragu and cheese sauce three times. Top with sheets, remaining cheese sauce and mozzarella.
Bake 25 minutes until golden and bubbling. Rest 5–10 minutes before cutting.

Tip: Fresh sheets meld best. If using instant dried sheets, keep the ragu a little saucier.