Lasagne may seem complicated to make, but it can be whipped up in under 30 minutes from scratch.
Mary Berry’s recipe serves eight to 10 people, can be made up to two days in advance and frozen for up to three.
The recipe notes said: “This is Mary’s classic lasagne recipe which has been perfected over the years.
“For the best results leave the lasagne to stand for six hours before cooking.”
There are quite a lot of ingredients for this dish, so make sure to prepare in advance.
Ingredients:
For the ragu:
Two tablespoons of olive oil
900g beef mince
Two onions
Four sticks of celery, diced
Two garlic cloves, crushed
Two tablespoons of plain flour
150ml beef stock
One tablespoon of redcurrant jelly
Three tablespoons of tomato puree
One tablespoon of chopped thyme
Two x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
For the white sauce:
50g butter
50g plain flour
750ml hot milk
Two teaspoons of Dijon mustard
50g Parmesan, finely grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the lasagne:
12 lasagne sheets
75g mature cheddar
Method:
Start by preheating the oven to 160C or 140C Fan and add the oil to a frying pan, cooking the mince until browned all over, remove from the heat and transfer to a plate.
Add the onion, celery and garlic to the pan and cook until softened before adding the meat back in and stirring in the flour.
Add the stock and bring to a boil and add the redcurrant jelly or sugar, tomato puree, thyme and stir well.
Stir in the tinned tomatoes, bring to a boil and then simmer in the oven for one hour, until the meat is nice and tender.
Meanwhile, make the white sauce by melting the butter, adding the flour and cooking for one minute. Gradually whisk in the hot milk, whisking until thickened.
Add the Dijon mustard and Parmesan cheese, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.
For the lasagne, put one-third of the meat sauce in the base, spoon one-third of the white sauce on top, and then the remaining meat sauce and white sauce.
Sprinkle over the cheddar before leaving for six hours so the pasta can soften and then preheat the oven to 200C or 180C..
Cook on the middle shelf for 45 minutes, or until golden brown on top and bubbling around the edges.
