Just add sauce - Lasagne

The secret to a great lasagne is quality of the sauce, and the key to that is coarse ground beef and long, slow cooking.

Ingredients(serves 6-8)

For the meat sauce:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 good knob butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 stick celery, finely diced
1 large carrot, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
125g streaky bacon, finely diced
750g coarsely ground beef
100g free-range chicken liver, chopped fine (optional)
Salt and ground black pepper
250ml whole milk
A couple of gratings of nutmeg
250ml dry white wine
400g tinned chopped tomatoes
500ml beef stock
2 bay leaves
For the béchamel:
750ml hot milk, infused with a bay leaf and a slice of onion
50g butter
50g plain flour
A grind or two of nutmeg
Salt and ground black pepper
10-14 lasagne sheets (depending on size of dish), fresh or dried
60g Parmesan grated
About 20g butter

First, make the meat sauce. Warm the oil and butter in a large saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the onion, celery and carrot, and sweat until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, bacon, beef, liver and a large pinch of salt, and brown the meat. Add the milk and simmer, stirring frequently, until the milk has mostly evaporated. Add the nutmeg and wine, and simmer until the wine evaporates.

Stir in the tomatoes, stock and bay leaves, bring to a simmer, then turn down the heat so it's barely bubbling. Cook, uncovered, for three hours (yes, really), stirring from time to time. Add a little stock or water if it looks as if it's drying out too much - if using dried pasta, keep the sauce a little more liquid.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Make the béchamel as for the macaroni cheese (see next recipe), add half the Parmesan, and season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.

To assemble, spoon a quarter of the béchamel in the base of an ovenproof dish followed by a layer of bolognese and a layer of pasta. Repeat, finishing with the last quarter of béchamel on top of the third layer of pasta. Sprinkle over the remaining Parmesan and dot with butter. Bake for 25 minutes, until golden and bubbling. Allow to cool slightly before serving.