Traditional Lasagna
A proper beef and pork ragu, slow-cooked for close to two hours, layered with a silky homemade bechamel and fresh lasagne sheets, baked until golden on top. This is the real thing, not a shortcut version.
Let the ragu go the full time, low and slow. The flavour genuinely deepens over that near-2-hour cook, and rushing it with higher heat browns the sauce instead of developing it properly. For the bechamel, bring the milk to lukewarm before adding it to the roux, not a boil, that gentle transition is what keeps the sauce smooth instead of lumpy.
Let it rest for 10-15 minutes before cutting in, it needs that time to set and hold a clean layer. Keeps in the fridge for 4 days or the freezer for 3 months, baked or unbaked.
Traditional Lasagna
BEEF · DINNER · MEDIUM
A proper from-scratch lasagna, worth the time
Two hours of slow simmering builds a depth of flavour in the ragu that just doesn't happen if you rush it. It's mostly hands-off time too, so it's not as much active work as the clock suggests.
The onion cloute, an onion studded with cloves and bay leaves, infuses the milk with flavour before it even hits the roux. It's a small classical technique that makes a real difference to the bechamel.
This makes a big batch and freezes properly, both baked and unbaked, so it's genuinely worth doubling up and stashing one in the freezer for a night you don't want to cook.
Lasagna
Ingredients
Meat Sauce
- 30 ml Olive Oil
- 1 ½ Brown (Yellow) Onion Diced or Grated
- 1 rib Celery Diced or Grated
- 2 Carrots Diced or Grated
- 500 g Beef Mince 10% Fat
- 500 g Pork Mince 18% Fat
- 250 ml Dry Red Wine
- 1.2 kg Diced Tomato or Passata Canned
- 250 ml Beef Stock
- 250 g Mozzarella Cheese Grated
- 150 g Provolone Cheese Grated
- 75 g Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano Grated
- 1 box Fresh Lasagne Sheets Enough for 3 Layers
Bechamel Sauce (White Sauce)
- 800 ml Full Fat Milk
- 90 g Unsalted Butter Cubed
- 90 g Plain Flour All Purpose
- ½ Brown (Yellow) Onion
- 2 Bay Leaves Dried
- 3 Whole Cloves
- 1 g Ground Nutmeg
- 50 g Parmigiano Reggiano Grated
Method
Meat Sauce
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the onion, carrot, celery, and a pinch of salt, and sauté for 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the beef and pork mince and cook, breaking it up, for 8 minutes.
- Pour in the red wine and cook for 5 minutes, or until reduced by ⅔. Check and adjust the seasoning. Add the crushed tomatoes or passata and mix well. Bring to a simmer, cover with a lid, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 1¼ hours, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the lid, stir well, and check and adjust the seasoning. Add the beef stock or water, mix well, and cook uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat.
Bechamel Sauce
- To make an onion cloute, take ½ a brown onion and pin the bay leaves onto it using the whole cloves as pins.
- Pour the milk into a saucepan, add the onion cloute, and place over medium heat until the milk is lukewarm. Remove from the heat and remove the cloute — this can be saved and used in a stock.
- Melt the butter in a separate saucepan over medium heat, then add the flour. Mix well to form a roux and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid burning.
- Add two ladles of the warm milk to the roux, mixing until fully incorporated before adding more. Repeat until all the milk has been added. Once smooth, remove from the heat. Grate in the Parmesan, season to taste, and mix through until melted.
Assembling the Lasagna
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease a large baking dish with butter or oil (a 30cm x 20cm dish is recommended).
- Spoon 1–2 ladles of meat sauce into the bottom of the dish and spread evenly. Cover with a layer of lasagne sheets, without letting them overlap much. Pour over one ladle of bechamel and spread to cover the sheets entirely. Sprinkle over a little grated mozzarella and provolone. Repeat the process — meat sauce, lasagne sheets, bechamel, and a scattering of mozzarella and provolone — finishing with a layer of bechamel on top.
- Cover with aluminium foil and bake for 25–30 minutes. Remove the foil and grate over enough Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano to cover the top. Return to the oven for a further 10 minutes, or until golden. Remove and let cool slightly before serving.
- Serve on plates or in bowls with salad and garlic bread, or on its own. Garnish with basil. Dig in.
Can I make the ragu or bechamel ahead of time?⌄
Yes, both can be made a day or two ahead and kept in the fridge. It actually makes assembly day much easier, and the ragu's flavour deepens even more overnight.
What's an onion cloute and why does it matter?⌄
It's an onion half studded with cloves and pinned with bay leaves, simmered in the milk to infuse it before the bechamel is made. It adds a subtle background flavour you'd notice if it were missing.
Can I use dried lasagne sheets instead of fresh?⌄
Yes, dried sheets work fine, just check the packet instructions, some need pre-boiling and others go in dry since the sauce provides enough moisture to cook them through in the oven.
Why does the lasagna need to rest before slicing?⌄
It needs that 10-15 minutes to set. Cut into it straight from the oven and the layers will slide apart instead of holding together on the plate.
