Easter Lamb Lasagne
Equipment
- Chef Knife
- Chopping Board
- Cast Iron Pan
- Food Processor
- Pasta Machine
- Baking Dish
- Grater
Ingredients
Ragu
- 50 grams unsalted butter
- 100 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium onions finely chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic crushed
- 2 sticks of celery finely chopped
- 2 carrots finely chopped
- 800 grams minced lamb
- 300 ml red wine
- 250 ml milk preferably full fat
- 400 grams tinned tomatoes
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp thyme leaves
- sea salt
- black pepper freshly ground
Spinach Lasagne
- 150 grams spinach leaves after removing stems.
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 250 grams 00 Pasta Flour
- large pinch of salt
Bechamel Sauce
- 50 grams butter
- 50 grams plain flour
- 500 ml whole milk
- pinch of grated nutmeg
Instructions
Lamb Ragu
- Put the butter and oil in a large heavy bottomed pan and heat over medium heat until the butter has almost melted.
- Add the onions and sauté for 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic, celery and carrots and cook for further 5 minutes or until the carrots and celery have softened.
- Add the minced lamb to the pan, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon and stirring until all the meat has browned.
- Season with sea salt and black pepper
- Add the wine and cook until it has mostly reduced.
- Add the milk, and cook until it has mostly reduced.
- Add the tinned tomatoes, bay leaves and thyme.
- Cook for on a low heat until the lamb has become very tender (about 2 hours) gently stirring every 20 minutes. Do not let it boil - the heat should be just low enough to allow very gentle bubbles to rise to the surface.
Spinach Pasta
- *You can mix by hand, but I always use a processor to mix the dough as it's easier and quicker.
- Add the flour to the food processor, then add the other ingredients. Then pulse then ingredients until the ingredients form a consistent crumble, almost like breadcrumbs.
- Tip the ingredients into a large bowl and using your hands, bring everything together into a smooth dough.
- Wrap in clingfilm and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
- Cut the dough in half, and flatten out by hand, and using a pasta machine, roll out pasta sheets to your preferred thickness.
- Cut the pasta sheets so that they fit your baking dish
Bechamel Sauce
- Melt the butter in a pan then add the flour. Mix quickly until a paste forms.
- Cook for a minute or two on a low heat, stirring constantly to make sure the roux doesn't stick or burn.
- Add a little milk, then whisk continuously until the milk is absorbed. Repeat until half of the milk has been whisked into the mixture.
- Add the remaining half of the milk, whisking continuously to avoid lumps.
- Cook the sauce on a gentle heat for 4-5 minutes. It's important to stir the sauce regularly, ideally with a whisk to stop the sauce catching or burning.
Assembly
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
- Add a layer of the ragu on the base of the baking dish.
- Then add a layer of spinach lasagne sheets, followed by a layer of béchamel sauce.
- Repeat until you have used up all the ragu, pasta and béchamel sauce, or until you have filled your baking dish, making sure you finish with a layer of spinach lasagne.
- Add a generous layer of grated parmesan cheese, season with ground black pepper then put the baking dish in the oven for 40-45 minutes. The lasagne is ready when the parmesan has melted and browned evenly.