Lasagne (Beef)

How to make a delicious beef lasagne, using homemade pasta, easy step by step instructions from start to finish.

Watch on YouTube here

Ingredients

Method

  • Pasta:
  • 300g / 11oz 00 Pasta flour
  • 100g / 3½oz Semolina flour (fine)
  • 246g / 8.7oz Beaten egg
  • 4g / ½tsp Salt
  • Pasta Sauce:
  • 1 medium onion (chopped)
  • 2 Large cans tomatoes
  • 1tsp Dried Oregano
  • 1tsp Dried Basil
  • 2tsp Garlic (chopped)
  • ¼tsp (each) Salt & Pepper
  • 1tbls Tomato Puree
  • ¼tsp each Salt n Pepper
  • 2Tbls Olive oil
  • Meat balls:
  • 750g / 26½oz Minced / Ground beef
  • ½tsp Dried Oregano
  • ½tsp Dried Basil
  • 1tsp Garlic (chopped)
  • 1 Small Onion (diced fine)
  • 1 large egg (beaten)
  • 250mls of Red wine or beef stock
  • Cheese sauce:
  • 1ltr / 1.8pts Milk
  • 90g / 3.2oz Butter
  • 80g / 3oz Plain or AP flour
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • 1g / ½tsp Nutmeg
  • 230g / 8oz Mature/sharp
  • Cheddar cheese (grated)
  • Making the pasta
  • For this recipe you’ll need 15 to 20 lasagne sheets.
  • Mix together all the pasta ingredients, by hand or in a food processor.
  • Knead the pasta dough by hand, for at least 15 minutes.
  • Making the pasta sauce:
  • Fry off the onions in the olive oil, until soft and transparent.
  • Add the garlic, herbs, and seasoning, stir well.
  • Pour in the 2 cans of chopped tomatoes, add the tomato puree or paste, and mix in.
  • (Optional step) use a hand blender to smooth out the sauce.
  • Add the now cooked meat balls, and deglazed liquid.
  • Simmer on a low heat for 10 minutes.
  • Making the meat balls:
  • Place all of the meat ingredients into large bowl, and thoroughly mix together.
  • Form the meat into 4 patties (burger shapes).
  • On a medium heat, shallow fry the meat balls, in the olive oil, for 5 minutes on either side.
  • Cut them in half and add them to the pasta sauce.
  • Deglaze the frying pan with the red wine, or stock, and add that to the pasta sauce too.
  • Making the cheese sauce:
  • In a large saucepan, melt the butter on a medium heat.
  • Add the flour to the pan, and mix for 3 to 4 minutes, (this is a basic roux).
  • Still on a medium heat, and using a whisk, slowly pour in the milk.
  • Season the sauce with the salt and pepper, and add the ground nutmeg.
  • As the sauce begins to heat up, it will get thicker, once it has thickened, turn down the heat to low, you now have a basic Bechamel or White sauce.
  • Add the grated cheese, slowly, but constantly stirring until the cheese has melted into the sauce, you now have a Mornay/cheese sauce.
  • Turn off the heat, cover the pan, and set it aside.
  • Whether you are using homemade (see video) or store-bought lasagne pasta sheets, you will need 15 to 20 sheets.
  • Assembly:
  • Take the meatballs out of the sauce and onto a separate tray, chop/ break and mash them up into small pieces.
  • Have all your separate ingredients, and a suitable ceramic lasagne dish ready.
  • Before assembling the lasagne, preheat your oven to 170°C / 340°F / Gas mark 3.
  • To begin building up the layers, start by laying down a coat of tomato sauce, on the bottom of your lasagne dish.
  • Build up your layers as follows.
  • 1 Lasagne sheets.
  • 2 Tomato sauce.
  • 3 Meat.
  • 4 Cheese sauce.
  • 5 Grated Parmesan cheese.
  • Keep building up the layers in that order until you are approximately 1cm / ½in from the top of the dish.
  • For the top layer, add a layer of tomato sauce, and a little more cheese sauce.
  • Finish off with a good coating of grated Parmesan.
  • Cover the top of the dish with aluminium foil, (this will prevent the top of the lasagne from drying out, and burning).
  • Get it into the preheated oven and set your timer for 50 minutes.
  • Lasagne does expand while cooking, so always a good idea to place a baking tray under the dish in the oven, to catch any dripping.
  • When there is 15 minutes left on your timer, carefully remove the foil, and increase the temperature of the oven to 190°C / 375°F / Gas mark 5.
  • Once your time is up, remove from the oven, and place the dish on a wire rack, allow to settle for 10 minutes.
  • Your lasagne is now ready to serve.
  • Serving suggestion:
  • Serve with chips/fries, and a mixed salad.
  • Enjoy.

Equipment & products used in my kitchen and videos

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