The Secrets Of My Lasagne

A couple of months ago a friend of mine and I got drunkenly talking about Lasagne. I can't pretend that there wasn't a bit of bravado sprinkled into the conversation and as the wine poured we decided the question of who made the best Lasagne needed to be resolved. With a 'Lasagne-Off'. Our husbands would be 'blind-tasters', marriages would be on the line if they chose incorrectly, but a decision had to be made as to whose was better.

It all seemed like a great idea, because ultimately, it just meant us getting together on weekend and eating loads of Lasagne.

The trouble is, when you like having boozey wine-filled evenings with your friends and they like doing that too, chances are, they like doing that with other people as well.

Drunken conversations about Lasagne spread like wild fire and it became 'The Annual International Lasagne-Off' with two fully Italian Americans participating using 'Grandma's secret recipe' and even a Latino entry with a crazy Columbian twist on the dish. The competition was much more fierce and the stakes much higher. But I couldn't back out - I had to put my pasta where my mouth was and compete. So just for your delight, here's the recipe for my entry. My Lasagne has been a much guarded secret until now and has a few contraversial ingredients. I can't say it's not a bit of a faff to make. It is. But it's a labour of love and worth every minute. Don't forget to fuel the chef with an inspirational amount of good red wine, and it'll all go swimmingly. This recipe feeds 8 a good hearty portion.

Start with the bolognese. If you can make this the night before and just leave it maturing in the fridge overnight, even better. But I'll give you all the ingredients up front for your shopping list!

Ingredients

For the Bolognese:

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  
• 3 cloves of fresh garlic very finely chopped
  
• 2 medium red onions diced
  
• 1 large stick of celery very finely diced
• 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
  
• 2lbs (1 kilo) of minced meat. Don't cut corners here, either get the butcher to give you sirloin steak and mince it up for you or do it yourself, but you don't want crappy mince. I like to make mine out of 3/4 steak and 1/4 veal just for a bit more depth but that isn't compulsory.
• 1lb (500g) of fresh good quality beef tomatoes - you know the nobbly weird looking ones that taste delicious? Don't use crap tomatoes - the quality of the tomatoes that you use and the quality of the meat are the difference between an amazing Lasagne and a lame one. If you can't find beef tomatoes go for some nice organic vine-ripened ones or something. Basically they should taste amazing and sweet raw as they are. If you use rubbish tomatoes you'll end up with a sour bolognese and have to start faffing around adding ketchup and sugar and all sorts at the end.
• 2 tins of good quality chopped tomatoes - again go for good quality here, if you can get fire-roasted tomatoes or tinned cherry tomatoes even better.
• A handful of chopped fresh Oregano (or 2 tablespoons of dried if you must)
  
• 4 tablespoons of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 a bottle of red wine (drink the other half as you go)
  
• 2 Tablespoons of tomato puree
• 1 beef stock cube or 2 tablespoons of Bisto gravy granules
  

For the Bechamel:

• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 4 tablespoons of plain flour
• 2 pints (1 litre) of full fat milk (use semi-skimmed if you have to but really, as my dad would say, "you may as well be hung for a sheep as for a lamb" i.e. this is not a diet foodstuff so you might as well make it in all its fattening glory and enjoy it!)
• 2 large handfuls of grated mature cheddar 
• 1 large handful of grated mozzarella

For the rest:

• 1 large aubergine
• Olive oil
• Salt
• 1 packet of regular dried lasagna sheets (don't pre-cook them)
  
• 2 large handfuls of fresh basil leaves (in this instance, no, dried won't do)
• 1 large fresh mozzarella ball
• 1 large handful grated mature cheddar
• 1 large handful grated mozzarella
• 1 large handful fresh grated Parmesan

NOW THE INSTRUCTIONS:

For the bolognese:

Fry the onion, garlic and celery in the oil over a low-medium heat in a big monster frying pan (one with a lid please). You don't want them to brown - just to turn translucent. Once they have softened nicely, add the balsamic vinegar and keep it cooking until it no longer smells strongly of vinegar - you want it all to go nice and sticky but not taste acidic.

Next, add the meat and keep stirring and moving it around so the meat doesn't cook in big lumps and so that it is all nicely browned. Add everything else except the gravy granules, stir it up, put the lid on almost completely (just leave about an inch gap) and simmer it for a good hour and a half. Stir it periodically to make sure it's not sticking and don't forget about it!!

Stir in the gravy granules thoroughly and set aside, preferably over night.

The aubergines:

While the bolognese is bubbling away, slice the aubergine lengthways into 1cm thick slices. Lay them all out on a tray and sprinkle generously with salt, then turn them over and sprinkle this side too. Don't be shy with the salt - this isn't for flavour, you're going to wash it off, it's to draw out the bitter juices from the aubergine so they taste sweet. Leave them covered in the salt for about 20 mins. When you come back it should look like they've been 'sweating'. Rinse off all the salt and juices under the tap and then pat them dry with paper towel. Put them on a baking sheet with a good generous coat of olive oil and roast them in a medium oven (about 160 C or 350 F) until they go soft and start to brown a little. Remove them and set aside.

The fresh mozzarella:

Slice the mozzarella ball into 1cm thick slices like the aubergine.

To make the bechamel cheese sauce:

Melt the butter in a saucepan (don't use non-stick) over a low heat, add in the flour and stir it with a metal balloon whisk until it has made a thick even paste. Continue to stir it and heat it on a low heat for two minutes. Next add the milk a splash at a time and stir with the whisk until completely smooth each time (this is how you avoid lumps) then continue to stir over the low heat until the sauce thickens nicely to the consistency of a good creamy pasta sauce. Add in the cheese and stir until this has melted and combined with the sauce.

To assemble:

1 layer bolognese; 1 layer uncooked lasagne sheets; 1 layer bechamel sauce; 1 layer torn basil leaves; 1 layer bolognese; 1 layer uncooked lasagne sheets; 1 layer bechamel sauce; 1 layer sliced roasted aubergine; 1 layer bolognese; 1 layer uncooked lasagne sheets; 1 layer bechamel sauce; sprinkle with the remaining 3 types of grated cheese.

Cook in a 180 C (400 F) oven for about an hour or until the top looks nice and bubbly and brown and delicious.

P.S. I got  a very respectable 3rd place in a very unscientific and drunken judging system :)