INGREDIENTS

Serves 6-8
1kg beef mince
200g chopped smoked bacon or lardons
1 onion finely chopped
2 celery sticks finely chopped
1 carrot diced
3 garlic clove finely sliced
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp chopped rosemary
1 tsp chopped thyme
2 tbsp olive oil
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
300g lasagne sheets
2 tbsp grated parmesan
75g grated chedder

for the white sauce
75g plain flour
75g unsalted butter
1ltr milk
2 tsp dijon mustard
juice of 1/2 lemon
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 160°C/200°C

Cook onion, celery and carrot in olive oil until soft. Add bacon, garlic and herbs, cook for 5 minutes. Add mince gradually and brown all over. Stir in flour, add chopped tomatoes, swill the tin out with water and add to the pan.  Bring to a boil, cover with a lid and simmer for an hour and a half either on the hob or in the oven at 160°C.

Melt the butter in a pan, add flour and mix rapidly for a couple of minutes. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking all the time. Add dijon mustard, lemon juice, seasoning and parmesan.

Spoon a third of the ragu into a large ovenproof dish, a third of the white sauce, then some lasagne sheets. Repeat twice more, ending with the white sauce on top. Sprinkle with cheddar and cook in the oven at 200°C for 40/45  minutes until brown and bubbling.

Approximate cost £11.00 (£1.83 per person between 6)