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PHOTOGRAPHS INDIA WHILEY-MORTON
Is there anything more comforting than a big slab of lasagne? I don’t think so. The classic layered pasta dish comes from Emilia-Romagna, that magical region of Italy responsible for parmesan, balsamic vinegar and more, but lasagne is now world famous, having made its way onto British restaurant menus and weekly shopping lists. It’s also a dish that (for better or worse) is open to interpretation. As long as you’re layering up sauce and sheets of pasta then baking it, a recipe tends to fall into the lasagne category. While I’m not veering from the original concept of lasagne (meat ragù, bechamel and pasta), I certainly can’t claim that my recipe is ‘authentic’. But in my opinion, this is the best version of that dish: sturdy, rich, balanced and the perfect culinary ballast against the chill of winter.
DON’T RUSH YOUR RAGÙ
Any good lasagne lives or dies on the quality of its ragù. The meat sauce is where your flavour comes from; the pasta itself is really there for structural integrity, while the bechamel adds creamy richness and glues everything together. As the Italians often do, I’ve opted for a half beef mince, half pork mince approach. Pork mince is fattier and more tender than beef, resulting in a softer texture and a more flavourful filling. Cook the mince in a large pan over a high heat, ladling out any liquid released by the meat so it gets a good caramelisation – it’s ready when it’s properly brown, rather than a dull grey.
When it comes to tomatoes, I like to use a mixture of passata, purée and tinned chopped tomatoes to get a perfect balance of texture and sauciness. The trick to turning a good ragù into a great one, however, is a good splash of milk. It might sound strange to add milk to a tomatoey sauce, but it helps round out the flavours, adds richness and tempers the acidity. The calcium also helps to tenderise the meat, creating an even softer texture.
Lastly, a good ragù takes time, so embrace the process. Lasagne is not a quick weeknight dinner; it’s something to celebrate. I’ll often make a bigger batch of ragù at the weekend, enjoy some of it with spaghetti, then save the rest in the fridge or freezer for a future lasagne. Classic ragù should be thick and sturdy; if you chill the sauce it should turn almost solid. We don’t want to take it quite that far for this (as the liquid in the sauce is what cooks the pasta), but you don’t want it to be watery – it should cling to your spatula.
BETTER BECHAMEL
Working in perfect tandem with the ragù, bechamel is the mild, creamy sauce that helps hold everything together. Regular bechamel is relatively bland (save for a little nutmeg spicing ), so my secret trick is to make a brown butter bechamel. It’s easy – when melting the butter for the roux, just keep it foaming away for a little longer until it turns nutty brown, then add the flour and milk as normal. I also add mozzarella, parmesan and a splash of vinegar to the sauce when it’s done – traditional it is not, but delicious it most certainly is.
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