Traditional Italian Lasagna with Beef

Ingredients

**For the lasagna:**

– 10 lasagna sheets (approx.)

– 100 g hard cheese (your favorite; they used VILVI Memel Reserve)

**For the meat sauce:**

– 700 g ground beef (leaner is tastier)

– 400 g canned tomatoes in their juice (chopped, peeled)

– 2 medium carrots

– 1 celery stalk (or 1 red sweet pepper)

– 2 onions

– 1 tbsp tomato paste

– 2 bay leaves

– 1 tsp dried oregano

– 1 tsp dried thyme

– 2 garlic cloves

– Salt to taste

– A little black pepper

– A little olive oil

**For the béchamel sauce:**

– 600 ml milk

– 40 g butter

– 40 g flour

– A pinch of ground nutmeg (or a few grates of whole nutmeg)

– Salt to taste

– A little black pepper

 Preparation

1. **Meat sauce:** Heat a little olive oil in a pan and brown the ground beef while stirring. Set the browned meat aside temporarily.

2. In the same pan, sauté the onions (cut into cubes) until lightly golden (add more oil if needed). Add the carrots (cut into small cubes) and finely chopped garlic. Cook while stirring until the carrots soften. Add the celery stalk (cut into small cubes) and sauté for another couple of minutes.

3. Stir in the tomato paste, thyme, oregano, bay leaves, and a pinch of pepper. Return the browned beef to the pan, add the chopped canned tomatoes, season with salt to taste, and mix well. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20–30 minutes. Remove the bay leaves once done.

4. **Béchamel sauce:** While the meat sauce simmers, melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add the flour and cook for 1–2 minutes while stirring.

5. Remove from heat and gradually whisk in about a quarter of the milk until smooth (no lumps). Add the remaining milk in batches, whisking well each time. Return to medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens to a creamy consistency (about 5–6 minutes). Season with nutmeg, pepper, and salt to taste.

6. **Assemble the lasagna:** In a baking dish (they used 20×30 cm), spread a thin layer of béchamel sauce on the bottom (just enough to cover). Place a layer of lasagna sheets on top.

7. Spread meat sauce over the sheets, then thinly coat with béchamel. Add another layer of sheets. Repeat the layers (they got 3 layers, but the exact number depends on your dish size). The top layer should be meat sauce coated with béchamel. Sprinkle generously with grated hard cheese.

8. Cover the dish with foil and bake in a preheated 180°C (356°F) oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, increase temperature to 220°C (428°F), and bake another 10–15 minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbly. For extra crispiness, briefly switch to grill mode at the end.

9. Let the baked lasagna rest for 5–10 minutes, then slice and serve.

**Tip:**  

No need to pre-boil the lasagna sheets. It’s very important to spread the sauces thoroughly and without gaps so the sheets soften properly—dry spots will remain chewy.