Meat Lasagna

I think we can agree that some recipes are classic for Sundays or family meals. Today we tell you how to prepare a traditional meat lasagna recipe, in an easy and clear way so it's as ideal for Sundays as for everyday meals.

Making lasagna is easy and, without doubt, really impressive! Whether for everyday meals or for more formal occasions you'll look like a good cook and you'll also enjoy being one of the diners.

The lasagna recipe we present to you has no complications: it's a lasagna made with beef, with a basic, quick and easy ingredient preparation. Some may prefer mixing different types of meat, and there's no problem doing so (you should only keep the total amount of meat equal to that indicated).

For preparing the lasagna it's ideal to use square or rectangular trays, to ensure a good and easy arrangement of the pasta sheets. With the Emile Henry trays you also ensure even heat distribution, good cooking and a traditional, attractive presentation. And for those who want even more... You can cut on them and they clean without any problem!

Emile Henry oven tray, ceramic mortar, salt cellar and Emile Henry oil cruets

Ingredients (for 6 to 8 servings)

• 1 onion
• 1 carrot
• 1 garlic clove
• 10 cl (7 teaspoons) of olive oil
• 1 kg ground beef
• 2 tbsp tomato sauce
• 15 cl (10 tablespoons) chicken stock
• 1 liter béchamel*
• 200 g grated emmental cheese
• 1 package lasagna pasta
• Salt and pepper

*See Notes if you want the easy and very tasty béchamel recipe.

Preparation of the meat and béchamel lasagna

1. We chop the onion, carrot and garlic. You can use a chopper like the chop-chop, you'll save time!
2. We heat the olive oil in a casserole or in a casserole and add the chopped vegetables. We cook them for a few minutes, stirring continuously.
3. We add the meat, mixing everything well, and cook it another 10 minutes.
4. We season well before adding the tomato sauce. We continue stirring and make sure everything is well combined.
5. We pour the hot chicken stock (we will have previously heated it in the microwave or in a small pan).
6. We prepare the lasagna sheets according to the package instructions (we will leave them in water if we have quick lasagna, or put them in boiling salted water if we have dry/traditional lasagna sheets, in each case for the time indicated on the package).
7. Once the lasagna sheets are ready, and the filling prepared, we can proceed to assemble the lasagna: we grease the lasagna tray with a little oil and pour a little béchamel sauce on the bottom. Add a layer of lasagna sheets and pour a little of the meat on top; then spread a little béchamel sauce over the meat and place a second layer of lasagna pasta, put meat and béchamel again... We will proceed this way until the ingredients are finished. We finish with a little béchamel sauce and sprinkle grated emmental cheese on top.
8. We put the tray in the oven (preheated to 180º C) and leave it about 40 minutes.

Ready to serve. Enjoy!

Notes

If you want to prepare the béchamel at home, you will need: 1 liter milk, 50gr butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil , 60gr wheat flour, nutmeg and salt

Steps to prepare the béchamel: We heat the milk in a saucepan. Meanwhile, in another pan we melt the butter over low heat together with the oil. When melted, we add the sifted flour and let it cook — it's important that the flour takes color, but does not burn. Stir well with the help of a wooden spoon or spatula, or I find using hand whisks very helpful in this preparation (not to whip, but to keep stirring). When the milk is boiling, we pour it over the flour mixture and remove from the heat. Stir constantly until the lumps that form disappear. Heat for about 5 minutes without stopping stirring. Finally, add a teaspoon or pinch of salt and nutmeg.