Perfectly Comforting Lasagne

I am only calling this perfect because I have cooked lasagne so, so many times with varying ingredients and this particular one was my favourite. I think its partly the half pork mince and half beef mince that makes it taste so much better, and also the use of just parmesan cheese. The pork mince is almost sweet and adds a lovely edge to the beef. I have used dried pasta sheets (cheap ones at that) and it tasted no different to when I make my own pasta. And I didn't put cheese all the way through it but just added parmesan to the béchamel sauce and topped with a bit more. Simple and perfect.

Ingredients for bolognaise:

250g lean pork mince
250g lean beef mince
4 rashers streaky bacon, chopped
1 large white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 small (or 1/2 large) carrot, chopped
200g button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
400g tin chopped tomatoes
glass of red wine (or white if preferred)
100ml boiling water
1 beef stock cube

For béchamel sauce & lasagne:

35g butter
50g plain flour
600ml milk
60g parmesan cheese, fine grated (or use Grana Padano - is much cheaper and tastes the same) 
200g dried lasagne sheets (about 10 sheets)

Method:

Dry fry the meats in a large pan. If you use lean mince there should still be enough fat in that and the bacon to not need oil. (Try to avoid the fatty mince which usually has too much water in it too, making the meat 'stew' which is unpleasant). Add a teaspoon of oil if you find it sticking. 

Add the carrots and garlic and continue to stir until meats cooked through and beginning to brown. Add the mushrooms and herbs. Crumble the stock cube over the mixture and stir in. Add the chopped tomatoes, wine and water and turn up heat to cook off the alcohol. Stir well and turn the heat to a simmer. Leave to cook, uncovered for about 45 minutes to an hour , stirring occasionally, for flavours to develop and the sauce to thicken.

To make the white sauce, melt the butter in a medium pan. When melted, add the flour in one go and stir well to incorporate. Cook for 1 minute and then add the milk, a little at a time. Keep adding milk and stirring to get a smooth sauce the consistence of double cream. Don't make it too thick as you will need to pour it on the pasta. Add half of the grated parmesan and stir through.

To assemble use a 9 inch square lasagne dish and put 1/3 of the bolognaise in the bottom. Add a layer of dried pasta sheets, then 1/3 of white sauce. Repeat ending with white sauce and sprinkle over the remaining parmesan. Cover with lightly oiled kitchen foil and pop in the oven, set at 200 C for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and return to the oven for a further 20-25 minutes.

Serve with salad and a buttered baked potato if liked. Or garlic bread. All good!!