Traditional Lasagne al Forno

Serves 8

450g no-cook dried lasagne sheets (+-24 sheets) or fresh if you prefer

400g Mozzarella, diced or grated

110g Parmesan, freshly grated or shaved

For the Ragu

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, peeled

200g sliced pancetta (or streaky smoked bacon)

2 fat cloves garlic chopped

350g minced beef

350g minced pork (use all beef if you don't want to use pork)

175g finely chopped chicken livers (trimmed and rinsed under cold water and dried thoroughly with kitchen paper)

1 x 400g tin Italian chopped tomatoes

1 x 230g tin chopped tomatoes

6 tablespoons tomato puree

175ml red wine

1/4 whole nutmeg

15g fresh basil

salt and freshly milled black pepper

First of all begin by making the ragu. Heat a tablespoon of oil in your largest frying pan over a medium heat and gently fry the onion for about 10 minutes. While it is softening, chop the pancetta. Add this to the pan along with the garlic and continue cooking the whole lot for about 5 minutes. Transfer this mixture to the casserole.

Next, add another tablespoon of oil to the pan, turn up the heat to its highest, then add the minced beef and brown it, breaking it up and moving it around in the pan; when browned tip it into the casserole to join the onion mixture, then heat another tablespoon of oil and do exactly the same with the minced pork. Transfer to the casserole too. Finally, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil and cook the pieces of chicken liver, adding these to the casserole as soon as they have browned nicely.

Place the casserole over direct heat, and give everything a really good stir. Then add the contents of both tins of tomatoes, the tomato puree, red wine, a really good seasoning of salt and pepper and about a quarter of a nutmeg, grated. More stirring, then allow this to come up to simmering point. While that happens, strip the leaves from the basil, tear them into small pieces and add to the casserole. As soon as everything is simmering, place the casserole on the centre shelf of the oven and leave it to cook slowly, without a lid, for exactly 4 hours. It's a good idea to have a look after 3 hours to make sure all is well and to have a good stir, but what you should end up with is a thick, reduced, concentrated sauce, with only a trace of liquid left in it. When that happens, remove the casserole from the oven, taste to check the seasoning, then strip the remaining leaves off the basil, tear them into small pieces and stir them it.

For the cream sauce:

175ml double cream

1.5 litres milk

175g butter, plus a little extra for greasing pan

110g plain flour

1/4 nutmeg

salt and freshly milled black pepper

Place the milk, butter, flour and some seasoning in a large thick-based saucepan. Place this over a gently heat and whisk continuously with a balloon whisk until the sauce comes to simmering point and thickens. Then, with the heat as low as possible, continue to cook the sauce for about 10 minutes. After that beat in the cream , taste and season if needed and grate in another quarter of the whole nutmeg.

Assembly:

25.5 x 30 x 7.6 cm roasting tin/ovenproof dish, well buttered

Now spread about a quarter of the ragu over the base of the dish. Cover this with one fifth of the sauce followed by a quarter of the mozzarella, then arrange a single layer of the lasagne. Repeat this process three more times, finishing with a final layer of sauce, then cover the whole lot the the grated parmesan and the lasagne is ready for the over. All this can be done well in advance.

Then when you are ready to bake the lasagne, pop it on to the top shelf of the over, pre-heated to gas mark 4, 350 F (180C) for 45-50 minutes, or until it's bubbling and turning slightly golden on top.