Ultimate Lasagna Recipe Jamie Oliver Food

SIMPLE BAKED LASAGNE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
• Peel and finely chop the onion, garlic and carrot, then finely slice the pancetta or bacon. Pick the herbs.
• Slowly fry the pancetta or bacon and cinnamon in a large casserole pan over a medium heat until golden, then add the onion, carrot, garlic and herbs and 4 tablespoons of oil.
• Mix together, add the beef and pork, cook for 5 minutes, then add the tomatoes and wine (or you can use water, if you prefer). Add the bay and bring to the boil.
• Scrunch up a wet sheet of greaseproof paper, then and place it on top of the pan and cover with a lid. Place in the oven for 2 hours or simmer on the hob over a gentle heat for around 1½ hours, or until thickened and reduced.
• Halve, deseed and roughly chop the butternut squash, then drizzle with oil. Bash the coriander seeds and dried chilli then sprinkle over, with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
• Place on a baking tray and roast in the oven for the last 45 minutes of cooking the sauce. When the sauce is done, season to taste and put to one side.
• For the white sauce, finely chop the anchovies, then mix with the crème fraîche and a handful of Parmesan, then season with salt and pepper - you may need to loosen the mixture with a little milk.
• Turn the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6.
• To assemble the lasagne, rub a lasagne dish with oil, lay some sheets of lasagne over the bottom and drape them over the sides. Add a layer of meat, a little white sauce and a sprinkling of Parmesan.
• Break the butternut squash into pieces and use this as one layer, then repeat the layers, finishing with a layer of pasta covered in white sauce.
• Tear over the mozzarella and sprinkle with some extra Parmesan, then bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden. Serve with a seasonal salad.

JAMIE'S CLASSIC FAMILY LASAGNE

Steps:

• Strip and finely chop the rosemary leaves and finely chop the bacon.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large casserole pan on a high heat. Once hot, add the rosemary and bacon and fry for 2 minutes, or until the bacon starts to crisp up, stirring regularly.
• Add all the minced meat, using a wooden spoon to break it up as you go. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for at least 10 minutes, or until all the liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally.
• Place the coarse grater attachment in your food processor (or you could use a box grater instead) and grate the Cheddar, then tip into a bowl.
• Replace the grater with the regular blade. Trim and halve the carrots, then add to the processor and blitz to roughly the same size as the mince. Peel and halve the onions, add them to the carrot and blitz again.
• Tip into the pan with the mince while you get on with blitzing and adding the celery. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the vegetables start to soften, stirring regularly.
• Next, add the tomato purée and plum tomatoes, breaking them up with a spoon. Fill each of the tins with water and tip into the pan. Give everything a good stir and reduce the heat to low. Leave to simmer around 2 hours, or until thickened and reduced, stirring occasionally.
• While that ticks away, make your white sauce. Trim, wash and finely slice the leeks, then add to a pan along with 2 tablespoons of oil and the bay leaves. Stir well and season with a tiny pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
• Reduce the heat to low and cook for 30 minutes, or until sweet and softened, adding splashes of water, if needed.
• Add the flour and stir well to coat, then gradually add the milk, stirring continuously. Turn the heat up to medium, bring to the boil, then reduce to low and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until thickened, stirring regularly.
• Carefully transfer the sauce to the food processor and blitz until smooth and silky. Add half the grated cheese and finely grate over half the nutmeg and mix well. Season to taste.
• Once the ragù is ready, preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5.
• Season the ragù to taste, then transfer half into freezer bags, portioning up as appropriate for your family. Allow to cool to room temperature, then pop in the freezer for another day. It's a good idea to freeze them flat so that you can reheat them quickly and easily. It's also a good idea to label and date them to avoid a game of freezer roulette in a few weeks' time!
• To build your lasagne, spoon a quarter of the ragù into a large deep ovenproof dish (roughly 25cm by 30cm) and spread it out evenly.
• Spoon over a quarter of the white sauce, then snap over some lasagne sheets, making sure they completely cover the sauce in one layer. Repeat this 3 times, finishing with a layer of white sauce.
• Sprinkle over the remaining cheese and bake the lasagne in the oven for 45 minutes or until golden and bubbling.
• Remove the lasagne from the oven and leave to sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Delicious served with a fresh green salad.

THE BEST LASAGNA

Steps:

• Place the beef in a large bowl and "pull" it apart with two forks as if you were shredding pulled pork, breaking up the clumps and loosening the meat without compacting it.
• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the meat is golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the pancetta to a large bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Spread the beef in an even layer in the same pot and cook undisturbed until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Toss and continue to cook, breaking up any clumps and scraping up any browned bits from the pot, until the meat is browned and completely cooked, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the browned meat with a slotted spoon to the bowl with the pancetta, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the carrots, celery, onions, half the garlic, the bay leaf, oregano, red pepper flakes, nutmeg, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender but not browned, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until it's very fragrant and brick red colored, about 2 minutes. Stir in the wine, bring to a boil and reduce until the liquid is very thick and no smell of alcohol remains, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the reserved pancetta and beef, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Add the basil and Parmesan rind and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce resembles sloppy joes, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. There shouldn't be any rapid bubbles while cooking. Instead, the ragu should release occasional small bubbles. If the ragu reduces too quickly, add 1/2 cup of water and continue cooking. Repeat if necessary. The ragu needs the full 2 to 2 1/2 hour cook time to develop the flavors.
• Discard the bay leaf, basil and Parmesan rind. Break up any remaining clumps of meat with the back of a spoon, making an even textured sauce. Season with salt and set aside until ready to assemble.
• Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the noodles, stirring occasionally and separating them to prevent sticking, until softened and bendable but are still hard and chalky in the center, about 5 minutes. Transfer the noodles to a large bowl of cold water and set aside until ready to assemble.
• Stir together the ricotta, 1 cup of the Parmesan, the remaining grated garlic and 2 teaspoons salt in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside until ready to assemble.
• Lightly oil a 13-by-9-inch glass or ceramic baking pan. Spread 1 cup of the ragu evenly in the bottom of the pan. Lay a single layer of noodles over the ragu (if you're using long noodles, you will need to cut some noodles to fill the gaps). Spread 1 1/2 cups of the ragu over the noodles. Dollop 3/4 cup of the ricotta mixture over the ragu and spread lightly with a small offset spatula. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the mozzarella, followed by another layer of noodles. Repeat with the remaining pasta, ragu, ricotta mixture and mozzarella, creating 4 layers of pasta and ending with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. (The lasagna should come just above the top of the pan but it will sink down slightly as it cooks.) Top with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.
• Lightly oil a piece of foil and cover the pan. Put the pan on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake the lasagna until bubbling gently around the edges, about 1 hour.
• Remove the lasagna from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees F. Remove the foil and then continue to bake the lasagna until the top is browned and crisp around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

LASAGNE

Steps:

• Recipe kindly shared by the Tesco Community Cookery School with Jamie Oliver. The recipe has been written to be flexible and scalable up to 50 portions.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.
• Put a fifth of your Bolognese sauce into the bottom of a deep ovenproof dish (35cm x 25cm), smoothing it out into the corners.
• Dollop a fifth of your white sauce over the Bolognese and swirl it in, then cover with an even layer of pasta sheets.
• Repeat the layering until all the lasagne sheets and sauces are used up.
• Grate over the cheese.
• Tear off a sheet of tin foil large enough to cover the baking dish without touching the cheese, and grease the underside. Cover the lasagne with the foil, crimping the edges under the rim to seal.
• Bake for 45 minutes, or until the pasta is hot through and soft.
• Remove the foil and return to the oven for a further 15 minutes, or until bubbling and golden.